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ENGLAND  IN  1815 

AS   SEEN   BY 
A    YOUNG   BOSTON    MERCHANT 


JOSEPH   BALLARD 

From  a  water-color  portrait  painted  by  John  Rubens  Smith  in  1813 


^^/y^i 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

AS  SEEN 

BY  A  YOUNG  BOSTON  MERCHANT 

BEING 

THE   REFLECTIONS    AND    COMMENTS 

OF 

JOSEPH  BALLARD 

ON 

A   TRIP   THROUGH    GREAT    BRITAIN 

IN   THE 

YEAR   OF    WATERLOO 


BOSTON   AND   NEW   YORK 

HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN   COMPANY 

1913 


COPYRIGHT,    jgi3,    BY   GEORGE    U.    CROCKER 
ALL   RIGHTS    RESERVED 


FIVE    HUNDRED   AND   TWENTr-FIVE 

NUMBERED   COPIES    PRINTED 

AT   THE    RIVERSIDE    PRESS,    CAMBRIDGE 

IN   MARCH,    1913 

NO.   Zl,"^ 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Joseph  Ballard Frontispiece 

From  the  water-color  portrait  painted  by  John 
Rubens  Smith  in  1813. 

The    Ship    "Friendship"   of   Salem.    A 
Typical  Packet  of  the  Day     ...      3 

From  a  painting. 

Advertisement  of  Sailing  of  the  Ship 
"Liverpool  Packet" 6 

From  the  Boston  Gazette  of  February  27,  1815. 

Boston  Harbor  in  1823  from  City  Point  .  181 
From  an  old  engraving. 


IKTEODUCTIOK 

THIS  journal  has  a  personal  interest  to 
Mr.  Ballard's  descendants  as  being  the 
work  of  their  ancestor,  but  they  have  published 
it  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  found  to  be  of 
interest  to  others  as  a  picture  of  the  life  and 
times  in  England  in  the  year  of  the  battle  of 
Waterloo,  as  seen  through  the  eyes  of  a  patri- 
otic young  American. 

Joseph  Ballard  was  born  June  2,  1789,  on 
Bromfield's  Lane,  formerly  Rawson's  Lane, 
now  Bromfield  Street,  in  Boston,  where  his 
father  conducted  a  livery  and  hack  business, 
having  established  the  first  hackney  carriage 
in  Boston.  In  1795,  the  family  moved  to  West 
Street,  which  was  then  considered  far  uptown, 
and  in  1824,  Mr.  Ballard  purchased  a  house 
on  Washington  Street,  near  Hollis  Street, 
where  he  continued  to  live  for  fifty-three  years 
until  his  death  in  1877. 

Mr.  Ballard's  school  education  ended  when 
he  was  fourteen  years  old,  at  which  time  he 
[        vii        ] 


INTRODUCTION 

received  a  Franklin  Medal  at  the  hands  of 
President  Jolin  Adams  in  Faneuil  Hall.  In 
1803,  he  became  an  apprentice  to  Standfast 
Smith,  an  Englishman,  who  was  a  dealer  in 
carpets,  cutlery,  upholstery  goods,  and  other 
household  wares  in  Franklin  Street.  At  the 
end  of  his  apprenticeship,  Mr.  Ballard  and  his 
brother  John  became  partners  of  Mr.  Smith. 
Later  the  firm  was  J.  and  J.  Ballard,  and, 
afterwards,  Ballard  and  Prince.  The  firm  was 
located  at  No.  168  Washington  Street  from 
1822  to  1846,  when  it  moved  to  No.  11  Brom- 
field  Street. 

One  of  Mr.  Ballard's  boyhood  friends  and 
fellow  apprentices  was  S.  F.  B.  Morse,  who 
later  became  noted  as  a  portrait  painter  in  Eng- 
land, and  afterwards  famous  as  the  inventor  of 
the  Morse  telegraph  system  and  alphabet. 

Mr.  Ballard  retired  from  the  active  manage- 
ment of  his  business  at  middle  age,  and  devoted 
the  remainder  of  his  long  life  to  his  family,  his 
books,  and  his  farm  at  Hampton,  New  Hamp- 
shire, where  he  spent  more  than  six  months  of 
every  year.  He  was  twice  married.  He  was  left  a 
widower  with  three  young  children  in  1822.  He 
[        viii        ] 


INTRODUCTION 

married  again  in  1824,  and  lived  for  fifty-three 
years  with  his  second  wife,  who  survived  him. 

A  century  ago,  opportunity  for  education 
was  limited.  Books  were  scarce  and  libraries 
few.  Mr.  Ballard,  however,  after  leaving  school, 
found  the  opportunity  to  educate  himself  by 
reading  The  Spectator^  The  Gentlemaris  Mag- 
azine, Cook's  Voyages,  and  similar  books,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  he  evidently  attended  to  the 
arduous  duties  of  an  apprentice  with  fidelity. 

It  is  interesting  to  conjecture  whether  at 
twenty-six  years  of  age,  when  this  journal  was 
written,  he  would  have  acquired  a  greater  abil- 
ity to  express  his  thoughts,  a  more  considerable 
knowledge  of  social,  political,  and  economic 
conditions,  and  a  keener  power  of  observation 
if  he  had  had  the  advantage  of  modern  educa- 
tional methods. 

Joseph  Ballard  Crocker. 

December,  1912. 


JOURNAL  OF  JOSBPH  BALLARD 


MARCH  12—  NOVEMBER  9,  1815 


ON  Sunday  the  twelfth  day  of  March  One 
Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and  Fifteen, 
I  sailed  from  Boston  on  board  the  Ship  Liver- 
pool Packet,  Samuel  Nickels  commander,  bound 
for  Liverpool,  England.  My  fellow  passen- 
gers were  Messrs.  Bamett,  Bangs,  Blanchard, 
Webster,!  Wheelock,  Plumer,  Wright,  White 
and  Nielson.2  The  weather  was  remarkably  fine 

1  Professor  J.  W.  Webster,  convicted  of  murdering  Dr. 
George  Parkman  on  November  23, 1849,  and  later  hanged. 

^  The  Boston  Daily  Advertiser  of  March  13,  1815,  gives 
list  of  passengers  as  follows  :  — 

Samuel  S.  Bamett,  Joseph  Ballard,  Isaac  Bangs,  Charles 
Blanchard,  Jr.,  John  W.  Webster,  George  Wheelock,  George 
Wright,  and  William  B.  White,  all  of  Boston,  Nathan 
Plummer  of  Newport  and  J.  C.  Neilson  of  Baltimore. 

[        3        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

and  appeared  likely  to  continue  so,  but  early 
in  the  afternoon  there  came  on  a  gale  of  wind 
with  bad  weather  which  lasted  with  very  little 
interruption  until  we  arrived  in  the  mouth  of 
the  Channel.  For  twenty  days  scarcely  a  day 
passed  without  snow,  hail  or  rain,  and  none 
without  a  gale  of  wind.  The  cold  was  exceed- 
ingly unpleasant  to  the  passengers  as  the  wind 
prevented  our  having  a  fire  in  the  cabin,  blow- 
ing down  the  funnel  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
fill  the  cabin  full  of  smoke.  I  suffered  more 
than  any  other  from  seasickness,  the  horrid  dis» 
agreeable  sensations  of  which  I  think  I  shall  ever 
remember.  In  four  days  however  I  was  perfectly 
hearty  and  well,  which  I  attribute  to  fasting  as 
many  of  the  rest  suffered  longer  from  having 
eaten  while  the  sickness  was  upon  them. 

A  few  days  out  we  discovered  a  large  island 
of  ice  computed  to  be  two  miles  long  and  eighty 
or  ninety  feet  out  of  water.  This  alarmed  us 
very  much  for  although  we  were  gratified  by 
the  singular  beauty  of  its  appearance,  yet  much 
was  subtracted  from  that  gratification  by  our 
sense  of  danger.  We  were  obliged  to  be  ex- 
tremely cautious  in  keeping  a  good  lookout  as 
[        4        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

our  commander  was  apprehensive  of  running 
upon  it  in  the  night. 

On  the  29th  we  experienced  a  tremendous 
gale  of  wind.  The  waves  ran  mountain  high, 
and  presented  a  scene  so  terribly  grand  as  to 
surpass  all  description :  then  I  would  have 
gladly  exchanged  our  gilded  palace  of  a  cabin 
for  the  meanest  hovel  in  creation.  I  do  not 
know  a  scene  in  which  a  man  can  be  placed 
wherein  he  appears  in  one  view  more  insignifi- 
cant and  at  the  same  time  in  another  more 
powerful,  —  To  view  the  wide  expanse  of  waters 
furiously  agitated  by  the  storm,  and  to  contrast 
his  best  efforts  with  the  power  of  the  elements, 
shows  his  insignificance ;  —  when  we  see  him 
by  his  nautical  skill  baffling  the  force  of  these 
elements  we  are  astonished  at  his  power !  * 

At  night  the  gale  still  continuing  we  were 
gratified  by  a  most  magnificent  and  sublime 
sight.  Hundreds  of  black  fish  from  eighteen  to 
twenty  feet  in  length  were  sporting  amid  the 
"  mountain  waves."  Their  appearance  when 
first  seen  very  much  resembled  a  drove  of  hogs, 
their  bellies  being  of  a  dirty  white  color.  Dur- 
*  The  following  extract  from  Southey  is  appropriate  to 
[        5        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

ing  the  storm  the  fears  of  us  fresh  water  sailors 
was  not  a  little  augmented  by  the  solicitude  ex- 
pressed in  the  countenance  of  one  of  our  fellow 
passengers  who  on  a  former  voyage  was  upset 
in  a  vessel  and  after  remaining  upon  the  wreck 
for  ten  days  was  providentially  rescued  from 
death  by  a  vessel  passing  that  way.  One  of  his 
fellow  seamen  was  torn  in  pieces  by  a  huge 
shark  before  his  eyes,  and  he  suffered  every- 
thing that  human  nature  could  bear  and  yet 
exist. 

We  passed  our  time  very  pleasantly  when  it 
did  not  blow  a  tempest.  Books,  conversation 
and  cards  served  to  fill  up  the  vacuity  of  time. 

my  sensations  upon  this  day  and  better  descriptive  of  them 
than  any  observations  of  my  own : 

"  'Tis  pleasant  by  the  cheerful  hearth  to  hear 
Of  tempests,  and  the  dangers  of  the  deep : 
And  pause  at  times  :  and  feel  that  we  are  safe, 
Then  —  listen  to  the  perilous  tale  again, 
And  with  an  eager  and  suspended  soul : 
Woo  terror  to  delight  us.  But  to  hear 
The  warring  of  the  raging  elements 
To  know  all  human  skill,  all  human  strength 
Avail  not,  to  look  round  and  only  see 
The  mountain  wave,  incumbent  with  its  weight 
Of  bursting  waters  :  on  the  reeling  bark  : 
Oh  God  !  this  is  indeed  a  dreadful  thing : 
And  he  who  hath  endured  the  horror  once 
Of  such  an  hour,  doth  never  hear  the  storm 
Howl  round  his  home  :  but  he  remembers  it 
And  thinks  upon  the  suffering  mariner." 

[        6        ] 


For  Liverpool, 
The  well  known,  regular  trading' 
copperbottomed  shipLlVERPOOL 
PACKET,  Samuel  Nickles,  com- 
mander, will  positively  sail  in  ballast  trim,  as 
soon  as  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  is  known. — 
The  ship  having  been  a  regular  trader  to  Liver- 
pool, is  provided  with  excellent  accommodations 
for  passengers.  For  terms  of  freight  or  passage, 
apply  to  the  master  on  board  at  Russell' s-wharf, 
or  to  LemuelPope,  Jr.  Ship  Broker,  No.  22,St  ate- 
street.  feb  2o 

FROM    THE    BOSTON    GAZETTE 
FEBRUARY   27,  1815 


The  ship  Liverpool  Packet  was  built  at  Charlestown,  Mass., 
in  1810. 

Length  108  feet                  9  in. 

Breadth  28    "                     Sin. 

Depth  14    "                     4  in. 

Tonnage  395J|  Gross. 

Owned  by  Samuel  Nickels  and  Samuel  Norwood  of  Boston. 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

Once  in  a  while  we  held  a  court  of  justice 
where  offences  against  the  dignity  of  the  ship 
were  tried,  and  the  culprits  fined  in  sundry- 
bottles  of  wine  to  be  paid  at  Liverpool :  they 
being  obliged  to  find  security  for  the  liberty 
of  the  ship  until  their  arrival  at  that  place. 
These  and  other  pleasantries  served  to  amuse 
us. 

April  4th  we  fell  in  with  sixty  sail  of  Eng- 
lish vessels  under  convoy  of  the  Musquito, — brig 
of  war  from  whom  we  were  boarded.  They  had 
heard  a  rumor  of  peace  and  the  officer  appeared 
highly  rejoiced  at  our  confirming  it.  Our  mate 
went  on  board  with  the  ship's  papers  and  the 
captain's  compliments  offering  to  furnish  their 
commander  with  refreshment.  After  a  short 
detention  he  returned  with  the  British  captain's 
steward  to  whom  we  gave  some  fowls  and  news- 
papers. I  gave  the  boarding  officer  some  of  my 
papers  as  he  observed  he  should  not  get  a  peep 
at  the  "  old  man's."  The  next  morning  we  were 
chased  by  a  frigate  who  compelled  us  to  heave 
to  after  firing  her  bow  guns  at  us  several  times. 
It  was  vexatious  in  the  extreme  to  be  thus  de- 
tained with  a  fair  wind,  but  as  "  might  gave 
[       7       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

right "  we  were  forced  to  comply.  When  she 
came  up  with  us  she  proved  to  be  the  La  Pique 
of  36  guns  mounting  45.  We  had  a  full  view 
of  her  as  she  passed  directly  under  our  stem. 
She  appeared  to  be  a  very  beautiful  vessel.  The 
British  lieutenant  soon  made  his  appearance 
upon  our  quarter  deck,  and  was  invited  by  our 
captain  down  into  the  cabin.  He  first  asked  if 
peace  was  certain,  and  was  pleased  with  our 
answering  in  the  affirmative.  Speaking  of  the 
treaty  he  asked  "  what  had  become  of  the  south- 
ern states"  (presuming,  I  suppose,  that  the 
northern  ones  had  made  a  separate  treaty).  In 
the  reply  something  was  said  respecting  the 
New  Orleans  affair,  when  he  changed  the  con- 
versation by  a  remark  upon  the  weather.  The 
convoy  of  ships  they  had  with  them  were  from 
St.  Thomas'  and  consisted  of  one  hundred  sail, 
forty  of  which  they  parted  with  in  the  violent 
gale  of  the  29th.  After  overhauling  our  papers 
he  returned  on  board  the  ship  and  most  gra- 
ciously permitted  us  to  proceed.  From  the  time 
we  were  boarded  from  the  Musquito  until  our 
arrival  at  Liverpool  we  were  surrounded  by 
this  fleet.  The  pilot  whom  we  took  on  board 
C        8        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

informed  us  of  Bonaparte's  return  to  Paris,  but 
this  we  considered  so  improbable  an  event  as 
to  pay  no  serious  attention  to  it,  but  thought 
it  a  hoax  which  he  was  playing  off  on  us  Yan- 
kees. 

On  our  arrival  in  the  harbour  we  were 
boarded  by  an  officer  of  a  74-gun  ship  lying  at 
anchor  there,  who  requested  Captain  Nickels 
to  furnish  him  with  a  list  of  his  crew,  that  in 
the  event  of  any  of  them  being  impressed  they 
might  be  known  and  liberated.  These  orders 
were  from  the  government,  and  certainly  they 
indicated  a  disposition  to  make  the  peace  of 
lasting  duration  as  far  as  regarded  this  cause 
of  complaint. 

At  our  landing  on  the  wharf  at  Liverpool 
we  were  surrounded  by  a  tribe  of  girls  of  the 
town  who  welcomed  us  most  cheerfully. 

These  and  innumerable  others  whom  we  met 
in  going  to  our  lodgings,  together  with  the 
sombre  appearance  of  the  buildings,  jRrst  by 
lamplight  made  visible,  gave  me  no  favorable 
opinion  of  the  place.  After  a  long  walk  which 
(owing  to  inactivity  on  board  ship)  fatigued 
me  exceedingly  I  arrived  at  the  Liverpool  Arms 
[        9        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

(the  Inn  where  Silliman  ^  lodged  and  whose 
waiter  Louis  he  had  most  unjustly  accused  of 
practising  by  his  politeness  upon  the  purses  of 
the  customers).  The  appearance  of  the  attend- 
ants at  an  inn  with  hair  bepowdered  and 
dressed  in  an  appropriate  style  was  to  me  so 
new  that  it  was  some  time  before  I  could  make 
up  resolution  to  call  in  a  consequential  tone  to 
the  waiter  to  bring  me  anything  wanted.  The 
next  day  we  were  much  pestered  by  Jews  who 
wished  to  purchase  our  gold  which  at  this  time 
was  at  a  great  advance  above  paper  money.  It 
was  extremely  amusing  to  hear  these  fellows 
talk  of  their  American  connections.  They  all 
positively  declared  that  they  did  all  the  trade 
that  was  done  in  their  line  with  America.  They 
also  asked  very  many  curious  questions  — 
"  Were  Charlestown,  S.  C,  Baltimore  and  Nor- 
folk near  Boston ! "  &c.  &c. 

Liverpool  possesses  an  Athenaeum  which  con- 
tains a  very  large  collection  of  books  in  every 
department  of  literature.    There  was  one  book 

^  Benjamin    Silliman,  noted  American   scientist,   1779- 
1864 ;  wrote  a  journal  of  travels  in  England,  1810 ;  first  leo- 
torer  at  the  Lowell  Institute,  1838. 
[        10        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

I  saw  which  I  thought  a  great  curiosity.  It 
was  for  teaching  the  blind,  the  letters  being 
raised  so  as  to  be  felt  by  them.  I  could  not  dis- 
tinguish them  by  feeling,  but  suppose  a  blind 
person  could,  as  the  sense  of  feeling  is  with 
them  more  acute.  I  was  extremely  fortunate 
in  my  visit  to  the  blind  asylum  as  I  found  the 
objects  of  its  charity  were  engaged  in  singing. 
It  was  extremely  solemn.  I  had  never  witnessed 
a  scene  more  so.  Twenty  five  blind  men,  women, 
girls  and  boys  composed  the  choir.  They  were 
singing  anthems.  The  female  voices  were  un- 
commonly fine-toned.  There  were  many  specta- 
tors present  among  whom  I  observed  a  man 
with  a  small  blind  lad  (I  presumed  his  son) 
whom  he  had  brought  for  the  purpose  of  being 
admitted.  During  the  singing  the  father  ap- 
peared to  be  very  much  affected  and  "  the  big 
tears  chased  each  other  down  his  cheeks."  In 
the  'hall  are  tablets  whereon  are  inscribed  the 
names  of  the  donors  to  this  establishment  and 
in  every  room  is  a  money  box  with  "  pray  re- 
member the  poor  blind  "  written  upon  it.  I  was 
witness  to  one  blind  person's  walking  alone 
across  the  yard,  going  up  stairs,  and  seating 
[       11       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

himseK  to  work  at  a  loom.  This  he  did  as 
readily  as  if  he  were  blessed  with  sight.  One 
of  the  rooms  is  appropriated  as  a  sales-room 
where  baskets,  rugs,  &c.  are  shewn.  This  ad- 
mirable institution  is  certainly  an  honor  to 
humanity ! 

The  Exchange  and  the  Town  Hall  are 
superb  buildings.  In  the  former  are  contained 
a  reading  room  and  an  insurance  office  similiar 
to  Lloyd's  at  London :  in  the  area  is  an 
elegant  monument  to  the  memory  of  Lord 
Nelson.  The  expense  of  erecting  it  was  defrayed 
by  voluntary  subscription,  and  the  cost  45000 
dollars. 

I  took  my  passage  on  Saturday  in  the  coach 
for  Warrington  eighteen  miles  distant  from 
Liverpool.  The  gardens  and  fields  looked  de- 
lightful being  in  quite  as  forward  a  state  of 
vegetation  as  ours  in  June.  I  was  much  amused 
at  the  activity  of  the  tumbling  boys  who 
turned  head  over  heels  at  the  side  of  the  .coach 
and  with  such  swiftness  as  to  even  keep  up 
with  it  for  some  time,  which  is  done  in  expec- 
tation that  the  passengers  will  throw  them  a 
penny,  their  parents  being  so  miserably  poor 
[        12        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

that  this  is  resorted  to  as  a  means  of  subsist- 
ence. There  were  six  passengers  inside  and 
twelve  outside  the  coach  besides  the  coachman 
and  an  abundance  of  luggage.  This  added  to 
the  weight  of  the  vehicle  (which  generally  is  two 
tons  or  more),  makes  it  almost  incredible  that 
they  should  be  able  to  go  at  the  rate  of  seven 
and  eight  miles  per  hour.  There  is  not  the 
least  derogation  from  respectability  in  riding 
upon  the  outside.  I  should  certainly  myself 
give  it  the  preference  in  fine  weather  as  you 
are  enabled  to  have  a  much  better  view  of  the 
country  through  which  you  pass  than  when  in- 
side the  coach.  The  danger  is  however  greater 
in  the  event  of  an  accident  happening  to  the 
coach,  but  as  they  are  made  so  very  strong  they 
are  in  a  degree  guarded.  We  passed  the  seat 
of  the  Earl  of  Derby.  ^  The  park  is  very  large. 
Earl  Derby  married  the  celebrated  actress  Miss 
Farren.  He  is  much  addicted  to  horse  racing 
and  gambling. 

Warrington  is  a  manufacturing  town.  The 
manufactures  consist  of  glass-houses,  iron  foimd- 

^  This  was  Edward  Stanley,  twelfth  Earl,  and  founder,  in 
1780,  of  the  Derby,  the  most  popular  of  English  horse-races. 

[        13        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

ries,  cotton  works,  breweries,  &c.  It  has  a 
gloomy  dirty  appearance  in  consequence  of  these 
works  and  the  quantity  of  coal  used  in  them. 
A  large  part  of  its  inhabitants  subsist  by  their 
daily  labor  in  these  manufactories.  It  was  late 
in  the  evening  when  I  arrived.  Opposite  the  inn 
were  assembled  a  vast  crowd  of  these  work- 
men having  (as  it  was  Saturday  night)  received 
their  weekly  wages.  This  they  were  spending 
in  ale  which  soon  intoxicated  a  greater  part 
and  such  a  scene  of  riot  ensued  as  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  describe.  These  men  are  generally 
intemperate;  were  it  not  for  this  habit  they 
might  live  quite  comfortably  on  their  wages. 
As  it  is,  their  families  are  starving  for  food 
while  they  are  spending  all  they  can  in  drink. 
Saturday  night  does  not  satisfy  them.  Sunday 
and  Monday  which  is  called  "  blue  "  or  "  St. 
Monday"  is  kept  the  same,  nor  can  any  emer- 
gency of  business  whatever  call  them  to  resume 
their  work  if  their  last  week's  wages  are  not  all 
spent.  The  old  women  seen  in  the  streets  are 
the  most  shocking  looking  creatures  I  ever  be- 
held. I  have  seen  them  clothed  in  a  man's  hat 
and  a  short  jacket  over  their  gowns  driving  a 
[        14       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

little  jackass  through  the  town  shewing  such  a 
countenance  as  to  bring  immediately  to  one's 
mind  Shakespeare's  scene  of  the  witches  in 
Macbeth.  There  is  also  an  incredible  number 
of  children  from  two  to  four  years  of  age 
swarming  the  street  in  such  a  state  of  nudity 
and  uncleanliness  as  is  quite  disgusting.  These 
wretched  little  beings  are  at  quite  an  early  age 
buried  in  the  manufactories.  I  saw  some  in  one 
who  were  not  seven  years  of  age.  They  had 
scarcely  a  rag  to  cover  them.  These  poor  little 
wretches  earn  sixty-seven  cents  a  week !  Could 
but  the  advocates  of  the  manufactures  of  our 
country  but  witness  the  misery  attached  to  those 
in  Warrington,  Sheffield,  &  Leeds,  I  am  sure 
they  would  not  so  strenuously  argue  that  it  is 
for  our  national  welfare  that  they  should  be 
established  in  America.  I  went  through  an  ex- 
tensive glass  work,  the  proprietors  of  which  pay 
c£600  per  week  duty  to  government  and  £150 
wages  to  the  Workmen.  They  were  making  a 
service  of  glass  for  the  Prince  Kegent  of  Por- 
tugal, a  very  superb  thing;  tumblers  were  $15.00 
each,  wine-glasses  $5.00.  The  whole  would  cost 
$15,000.  It  will  take  one  year  to  finish  it.  I 
[        15        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

was  here  introduced  to  a  Swiss  gentleman,  whom 
I  found  an  intelligent  person.  Being  a  fine  day 
we  rambled  into  the  country.  The  fields  bore 
a  charming  appearance,  surrounded  by  hedges 
cut  in  a  most  regular  manner  and  blown  out  in 
flowers  resembling  the  barberry  when  in  blos- 
som. We  stopped  at  the  country  house  of  Mr. 
A.  (with  whom  we  went)  and  partook  of  a 
luncheon  of  bread,  cheese,  and  ale,  and  returned 
to  W.  to  dine.  There  is  but  a  slight  difference 
between  their  etiquette  at  this  meal  and  ours, 
consequently  I  have  nothing  to  remark  about 
it  except  the  introduction  of  apples  from  France, 
at  the  dessert.  A  conversation  took  place  after 
dinner  respecting  the  English  Clergy,  when 
many  sad  instances  of  their  misbehaviour  were 
mentioned.  This,  it  was  observed,  would  oft 
be  the  case  as  long  as  they  were  independent 
of  their  hearers.  The  Earl  of  Derby  has  a  liv- 
ing in  his  gift  the  income  of  which  is  £10,000 
a  year.i  This  is  now  in  the  possession  of  his 
lordship's  nephew,  until  his  son  becomes  of  age 

^  This  liying  was  probably  at  Winwick,  and  was  held  by 
Rev.  John  James  Hornby,  the  nephew  of  this  Earl.  The 
living  is  still  one  of  the  richest  in  England,  —  £2400  per 
annum. 

[        16        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1816 

to  take  it.  The  occupant  of  course  is  making 
the  most  of  it  and  the  poor  tenants  are  ground 
to  the  dust  with  his  exactions.  The  dissenting 
clergy,  being  chosen  by  their  congregations,  are 
an  exception  to  this  and  are  an  honor  to  their 
profession. 

During  a  walk  after  dinner  we  came  to  a 
monument  erected  in  commemoration  of  the 
defeat  of  the  Scottish  rebels  in  1775.1  It  is  over 
the  spot  where  the  person  who  erected  it  con- 
cealed his  money  and  plate.  These  rebels  were 
stopped  at  Warrington  and  prevented  from 
crossing  the  river  by  the  destruction  of  the 
bridge.  At  the  glass  works  I  witnessed  a  most 
singular  operation  in  the  removal  of  a  broken 
pot  from  a  furnace  "  seven  times  heated,"  and 
a  perfect  pot  taken  from  another  furnace  equally 
heated  and  put  in  the  place  of  the  injured  one. 
These  large  vessels  weighed  six  to  seven  Cwt. 
and  were  so  hot  that  I  was  obliged  to  stand  at 
several  yards  distance  from  them.  A  large  iron 
bar  was  inserted  in  the  mouth  of  the  pot,  while 
another  crossed  it.  The  men,  clothed  in  wet 

^  Thia  date  should  be  either  1715  or  1745,  on  both  of  which 
dates  the  Scottish  rebels  were  in  the  vicinity  of  Warrington. 
[        17        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

sacks,  bore  it  along  until  it  was  fixed  in  its 
proper  situation.  A  few  years  ago  a  workman 
slipped  and  fell  into  the  furnace  but  was  not 
injured,  the  sack  preventing  his  being  burned. 

At  Warrington  I  became  acquainted  with 
Mrs.  I.  and  daughter,  with  whom  I  was  much 
pleased.  When  I  entered  the  house  I  found 
Miss  I.  occupied  in  the  old-fashioned  Yankee 
employment  of  darning  stockings.  I  was  de- 
lighted with  the  ease  with  which  I  was  received. 
The  young  lady  continued  her  work  until  I  in- 
quired for  a  direction  to  a  place,  when  she  of- 
fered to  accompany  me  as  a  guide.  So  away  we 
trudged,  arm  in  arm,  like  old  acquaintances. 
We  had  a  deal  of  chat  and  I  found  her  a  very 
pleasant  companion. 

I  took  leave  of  my  Warrington  friends  after 
many  kind  invitations  to  return  and  pass  a  few 
days  with  them,  then  went  to  the  Inn  and  after 
paying  my  bill,  "  boots,"  waiter  and  chamber- 
maid, departed  in  the  coach  for  Manchester.  In 
passing  some  farmhouses  I  observed  a  way  they 
have  of  fastening  fruit  trees  in  the  manner  of 
a  vine  to  the  side  of  the  house,  which  answers 
both  for  ornament  and  use,  as  the  reflection  of 
C       18       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

the  sun  ripens  the  fruit,  while  the  vine  hides 
the  dismal  looks  of  the  wall,  which  is  solid  in 
consequence  of  the  window  tax. 

Manchester  at  its  entrance  has  an  agreeable 
appearance,  as  there  are  many  fine  houses  in  the 
suburbs,  which  serves  only  to  render  the  dis- 
appointment more  extreme  when  you  enter  the 
town.  It  is  a  very  irregularly  built  place;  a 
stranger  may  think  himself  fortunate  if  he  does 
not  lose  himself  twenty  times  a  day.  The  ware- 
houses are  in  courts,  the  entrances  to  which  are 
obscure  and  difficult.  The  rooms  in  which  they 
show  the  goods  are  so  darkened  by  the  window 
squares  being  painted  that  a  person  must  be  a 
perfect  judge  of  the  effect  of  light  and  shade  or 
he  may  be  greatly  deceived  with  regard  to  their 
fineness. 

There  is  an  athenaeum  and  a  reading-room 
here,  supported  by  subscription.  I  was  highly 
gratified  in  viewing  the  old  church,  an  ancient 
Gothic  building,  the  tower  of  which  is  of  a 
great  height :  in  the  interior  is  some  curious 
carved  work,  and  over  the  altar  a  large  tapestry 
picture,  the  subject  of  which  I  could  not  make 
out,  as  it  was  so  defaced  by  the  hand  of  time. 
[        19       ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

Over  it  was  a  painted  window,  the  colors  in  the 
highest  perfection,  although  ages  have  elapsed 
since  the  work  was  executed.  The  whole  inte- 
rior has  a  cold,  damp  and  gloomy  aspect,  as  the 
whole  floor  is  composed  of  gravestones,  it  being 
used  as  a  cemetery.  Some  part  of  the  outside 
was  undergoing  a  repair. 

In  the  evening  I  attended  the  theatre.  The 
performances  were  "  The  Battle  of  Hexham  " 
and  "  The  MiUer  and  his  men."  The  acting  was 
tolerably  good,  but  the  scenery  and  decorations 
not  so  handsome  as  at  Boston.  There  were 
many  ladies  in  the  pit,  which  is  customary  here. 
John  Bull  in  the  gaUery  was  quite  noisy.  En- 
cores were  persisted  in  until  every  song  was 
repeated,  and  when  a  player  who  had  danced  a 
hornpipe  did  not  make  his  reappearance  John 
became  extremely  outrageous  and  kicked  up  a 
row  which  only  subsided  by  the  performer's 
coming  forward,  stating  that  he  had  lamed  him- 
self and  offering  the  customary  apology  begin- 
ning with  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  etc. 

Manchester  is  quite  a  smoky  place.  Upon  my 
walking  a  little  way  out  of  town  I  found  it  was 
quite  fine  weather,  and  what  I  supposed  a  foggy 
[       20       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1816 

day  was  only  an  accumulation  of  coal  smoke 
from  their  manufactories. 

The  next  day  I  took  the  coach  for  Leeds  and 
after  passing  rapidly  through  several  small 
places  came  to  one  of  the  most  barren,  desolate 
spots  of  earth  I  ever  beheld.  It  was  very  ex- 
tensive and  covered  with  a  brown  heath.  In 
other  parts  of  England  I  have  seen  similar 
tracts  of  land,  some  of  which  was  not  so  sterile, 
and  considering  the  immense  population  I  think 
might  be  made  to  produce  something  either  for 
man  or  beast.  At  the  top  of  a  mountain  we 
passed  a  reservoir  of  water  for  supplying  a  canal 
in  a  dry  time,  the  whole  a  work  of  art,  and  from 
its  size  it  must  contain  an  amazing  quantity  of 
water.  After  passing  the  wastes  mentioned  I 
saw  many  farms,  the  land  appearing  to  be  in 
the  highest  state  of  cultivation.  The  farmers  all 
over  the  county  employ  old  women  and  children 
to  pick  up  dung  in  the  streets  and  roads,  and 
they  gain  (I  am  informed)  one  shilling  per  day 
by  this  miserable  employment.  The  passengers 
in  the  coach  were  a  democratic  Scotsman  and  a 
most  loyal  English  colonel.  The  Scot  was  a 
warm  friend  to  Bonaparte  and  asserted  that  the 
[       21        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

ministers  had  broken  every  treaty  they  had 
made  with  him.  This  was  sharply  resented  by 
the  colonel,  and  there  is  no  telling  where  the 
dispute  might  have  ended  had  not  the  con- 
versation turned  upon  American  affairs.  The 
colonel  complimented  the  American  troops  in 
a  curious  manner  by  observing  that  they  were 
brave  and  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  since 
they  "were  descendants  of  Englishmen."  It 
required  all  my  gravity  to  make  an  acknow- 
ledging bow  for  this  compliment !  I  frequently 
found  that  the  bravery  displayed  by  the  Ameri- 
cans in  the  last  war  was  accounted  for  from 
this  source. 

Leeds  is  a  town  of  considerable  consequence. 
It  is  not  as  gloomy  and  dull  in  appearance  as 
most  of  the  manufacturing  places.  The  bricks 
of  which  the  houses  are  built  are  of  a  lighter 
color,  and  more  resembling  ours.  There  is  a 
reading  room  here  to  which  I  was  introduced 
by  a  friend.  It  was  well  supplied  with  news- 
papers, and  served  me  to  pass  a  leisure  hour 
away.  This  place  is  famous  for  its  woolen  man- 
ufactures. On  market  days  a  vast  quantity  of 
woolens  of  every  description  is  exposed  for  sale 
[        22        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

in  a  large  building  called  the  cloth-hall.  The 
dealers  in  the  respective  cloths  here  purchase 
them  and  have  them  dyed  and  finished  to  suit 
themselves.  I  took  a  short  ride  to  a  village  in 
the  vicinity  of  Leeds,  called  Heckmondwick. 
My  friend  and  I  dined  at  a  small  ale-house,  just 
such  a  one  as  Fielding  describes  in  his  novel  of 
Tom  Jones,  and  Joseph  Andrews.  The  descrip- 
tion was  so  forcibly  brought  to  my  mind  by  the 
place  that  I  almost  expected  Jones  or  Parson 
Adams  would  make  his  appearance.  There  was 
a  kind  of  bread  made  of  oatmeal  hanging  in 
large  sheets  from  the  ceiling,  and  pork  sus- 
pended from  the  wall,  this  being  the  way  they 
cure  it,  as  they  seldom  pickle  it  in  the  manner 
we  do.  On  our  way  back  to  Leeds  we  met  many 
little  children  driving  jackasses  with  paniers  of 
coals  on  their  backs.  They  were  carrying  them 
into  a  neighboring  village  for  sale.  We  passed 
near  to  a  large  coal  pit.  The  entrance  to  it  was 
so  forbidding  that  I  did  not  venture  down.  At 
Leeds  there  is  a  steam  engine  which  draws 
twenty  eight  loaded  wagons  several  miles.  On 
Sunday  I  attended  divine  service  in  the  morn- 
ing and  in  the  afternoon  took  the  coach  for 
I       23       ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

Sheffield.  On  the  road  there,  passed  some  ruins, 

and  a  pyramid  erected  by  Lord ^  at  a  vast 

expense  as  the  boundary  to  a  view  from  Went- 
worth  Castle. 

At  dusk  arrived  at  Sheffield  and  sat  myself 
down  a  solitary  being  in  the  travellers'  room. 
I  should  have  preferred  the  society  of  a  favorite 
dog  or  cat  to  have  passed  away  the  "  lagging 
moments  "  which  were  to  me  almost  unsupport- 
able.  The  next  day  visited  some  manufactories 
of  cutlery,  &c.  &c.  The  manufactories  of  steel 
are  brought  to  wonderful  perfection.  I  saw 
twenty  pairs  of  scissors  so  small  that  they  were 
kept  in  a  quill  of  the  common  size.  The  town 
is  surrounded  by  hUls,  and  were  it  not  for  its 
almost  infernal  smoke  and  fire,  it  would  be  quite 
pleasant.  The  inhabitants  of  this  place  partake 
of  the  misery  resulting  from  manufactures.  The 
poorer  classes  are  worse  off  for  the  articles 
which  they  immediately  manufacture  than  the 
inhabitants  of  the  American  back  settlements 
are.  Many  children  not  eight  years  of  age  are 
at  work  in  these  cursed  holes,  deprived  of  edu- 
cation ;  they  consequently  grow  up  in  ignorance, 

^  Probably  tbe  Marquis  of  Rockingham. 
[        24        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

and  all  the  comfort  or  pleasure  they  have  is  in 
drunkenness  and  sensuality.  Many  of  these 
little  wretches  are  sent  from  London  work- 
houses to  these  manufacturing  towns.  Often 
has  my  heart  bled  to  see  a  poor  little  sickly 
being  hard  at  work,  deprived  of  liberty  and 
fresh  air,  when  its  situation  demanded  the  in- 
dulgent care  of  a  tender  nurse.  In  the  evening 
I  met  at  the  inn  the  printer  of  a  newspaper, 
who  remarked  that  Gales  who  edits  the  Intel- 
ligencer was  obliged  to  fly  the  town  for  fear 
of  justice,  and  that  his  sisters  still  carry  on  a 
book-shop  formerly  his.  Montgomery  ^  the  poet 
is  the  printer  of  a  newspaper  here.  He  bears  a 
most  excellent  character,  and  is  much  esteemed. 
Left  Sheffield  for  London  ;  passed  through 
many  fine  towns.  The  country  was  throughout 
the  whole  route  highly  cultivated.  There  were 
three  buxon  damsels  in  the  coach.  After  having 
travelled  through  the  night  one  of  these  pulled 
out  a  small  bottle  of  rum  from  her  "indispen- 
sable "  and  most  kindly  asked  me  to  partake 
with  her  and   her  companions.    At  Woburn 

^  James  Montgomery,  1776-1854.     Best  knoxrn  as  the 
author  of  many  hymns- 

[        25        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

passed  the  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford.  The 
park  wall  contmued  about  two  miles  along  the 
road  until  it  terminated  by  an  elegant  gateway, 
—  the  entrance  to  the  Abbey  (as  the  house  is 
called).  Near  here  the  road  was  cut  through  a 
mountain  of  chalk.  It  lay  in  large  heaps  on 
each  side. 

As  we  approached  London  the  country  be- 
came thicker  settled  and  more  highly  cultivated. 
At  St.  Albans,  twenty-one  miles  this  side,  saw 
the  famous  abbey  which  bears  that  name.  The 
edifice  is  of  stone  and  is  very  large.  At  Isling- 
ton the  houses  were  pretty  and  neat,  but  when 
I  entered  the  great  city  I  was  a  little  disap- 
pointed at  the  narrow  streets  and  lanes,  and  its 
appearance  generally,  which  struck  me  as  being 
dirty  and  gloomy.  1  took  lodgings  at  the  New 
England  Coffee  House,  the  general  resort  of 
Yankees.  After  I  had  dined  with  the  assistance 
of  Mr.  Porter  found  out  Mr.  Webster  and  with 
him,  in  the  evening,  attended  Drury  Lane 
Theatre.  The  building  is  a  most  noble  structure 
and  is  furnished  with  elegant  scenery  and  de- 
corations. The  play  was  The  Unknown  Guest, 
the  concluding  scene  of  which  was  the  storming 
[       26       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1816 

and  blowing  up  a  castle.  It  was  admirably  re- 
presented. There  were  soldiers  drawing  cannon, 
bomb  shells  flying  and  bursting  upon  the  ram- 
parts, &c.  &c.,  the  whole  forming  I  should 
suppose,  a  perfect  resemblance  of  a  battle.  The 
after-piece  was  The  Woodman's  Hut ;  one 
scene  of  which  represents  a  cottage  struck  by 
lightning  and  consumed,  another  a  wood  which 
took  fire  and  spread  until  it  consumed  a  row  of 
cottages.  One  of  the  actresses  much  resembles 
Mrs.  Darley.  Munden  is  much  like  Bernard. 

On  visiting  the  Bank  of  England  I  was  as- 
tonished at  its  magnitude  and  the  number  of 
clerks  employed.  Many  of  the  rooms  in  this 
great  paper-mill  of  England  resembled  an  ex- 
tensive school,  where  the  clerks  like  boys  were 
each  set  down  to  his  task.  The  entrances  are 
guarded  by  the  porters  dressed  in  scarlet  coats 
with  badges  on  their  arms  denoting  their  em- 
ployment, and  by  Beadles  with  a  curious  uni- 
form and  huge  gold-laced  hats. 

Guildhall  is  a  very  large  building  but,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  monuments,  is  not  hand- 
some. These  monuments  are  quite  elegant  and 
are  erected  in  memory  of  Chatham,  Pitt,  Nel- 
[        27        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

son  &  Beekford,^  the  last  representing  Beck- 
ford  in  his  Mayor's  robes  holding  in  his  hand 
the  famous  speech  which  he  made  to  the  King 
in  1770.  This  was  erected  by  the  city  as  a  tes- 
timony of  their  approbation  of  his  sentiments. 
There  are  also  two  mighty  images  here  painted 
as  fine  as  puppets  called  Gog  and  Magog.  The 
Royal  Exchange  is  a  capacious  building,  but 
has  been  robbed  of  a  deal  of  its  elegance  by  the 
hand  of  time.  The  statues  in  the  niches  are 
very  much  decayed,  which  altogether  renders 
it  less  interesting  as  a  fine  building  than  I  ex- 
pected. AU  the  public  buildings  in  the  city  are 
injured  in  their  appearance  by  the  smoke  of 
coal  (which  is  here  burnt  altogether  for  fuel) 
and  which  adheres  to  the  stones. 

In  the  area  of  the  Exchange,  merchants  from 
all  parts  of  the  earth  meet  to  transact  business. 
It  is  hung  around  with  advertisements  ;  one  I 
remarked  as  being  very  singular :  —  a  dentist 
had  formed  his  of  the  decayed  teeth  which  he 
had  extracted  from  the  jaws  of  his  patients. 

1  William  Beckford,  1709-1770,  Lord  Mayor  of  London, 
1762  and  1769.  Speech  mentioned  was  made  May  28,  1770, 
and  he  died  June  21,  1770. 

[        28        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

These  were  arranged  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give 
a  much  prettier  effect  than  one  would  suppose 
rotten  bones  were  capable  of  doing.  The  Man- 
sion House,  the  residence  of  the  Mayor  of  Lon- 
don, has  a  very  heavy  and  gloomy  appearance, 
more  befitting  a  prison  than  for  the  purpose  it 
is  intended. 

20th.  This  evening  attended  Covent  Garden 
Theatre.  The  outside,  as  well  as  that  of  Drury 
Lane  and  the  Opera,  is  guarded  by  soldiers  to 
keep  proper  order.  The  play  was  Shakespeare's 
Romeo  &  Juliet,  Miss  O'Neil  ^  sustained  the 
character  of  Juliet  in  a  style  which  as  far  sur- 
passed our  actresses  as  the  celebrated  Cooke  ^ 
did  our  actors.  The  funeral  scene  was  extremely 
solemn;  the  friars  and  attendants  were  over 
sixty  persons  who  chanted  the  service  in  the 
manner  of  the  Romish  church.  The  music  and 
singing  was  very  fine.  The  after  piece  was 
Lembucca,  a  modern  melodrama  resembling 

^  Eliza  O'Neil,  afterwards  Lady  Becher,  bom  in  Ireland 
1791,  died  1872.  Made  her  d6but  as  Juliet  at  Covent  Garden 
Theatre  in  1814.  Was  for  five  years  until  her  marriage  Eng- 
land's most  popular  actress. 

*  George  Frederick  Cooke  died  in  New  York  in  1811,  and 
was  regarded  by  Edmund  Kean  as  the  g^reatest  of  actors. 
[        29        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

Tekeli.  The  scenery  and  dresses  to  this  were 
very  handsome.  There  were  frequently  one  hun- 
dred performers  on  the  stage  at  once.  The  de- 
corations of  this  house  on  the  auditors'  parts 
(in  the  auditorium)  are  not  so  elegant  as  those 
of  Drury  Lane,  yet  I  think  the  scenery  more 
elegant.  There  is  always  attending  these  theatres 
an  immense  number  of  women  of  the  town. 
With  the  exception  of  the  first  boxes  which  are 
designated  as  dress  boxes  they  go  into  all  parts 
of  the  house  and  seat  themselves  where  they 
please.  I  have  often  seen  many  of  them  in  boxes 
with  ladies  and  gentlemen  apparently  respect- 
able. The  streets  are  also  thronged  with  these 
miserable  wretches  who  accost  every  person 
who  passes  along.  Many  of  them  have  not  where 
to  lay  their  heads,  and  pass  the  night  in  the 
streets  in  any  corner  which  will  afford  them  a 
shelter.  At  Covent  Garden  Theatre,  Liston, 
one  of  the  performers,  is  endued  with  such  com- 
ical powers  of  countenance  that  one  must  have 
a  perfect  command  of  the  risible  powers  to  pre- 
vent himself  from  laughing  before  he  utters  a 
word.  There  are  also  some  fine  dancers  at  this 
house,  but  these  ladies  are  so  thinly  clad  and 
[       30       ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

throw  themselves  into  such  indecent  postures 
that  I  think  a  New  England  audience  would 
not  have  tolerated  them.  At  night  a  good  many 
of  the  streets  and  stores  are  lighted  up  with 
gas.  The  brilliancy  of  light  thrown  out  this 
way  is  astonishing ;  compared  with  it  the  oil 
lamps  look  like  a  "  dim  candle  at  noon."  It  is 
prepared  in  some  building  erected  for  the  pur- 
pose and  conducted  through  the  streets  in  pipes 
like  an  aqueduct,  consequently  all  the  proprie- 
tors have  to  do  is  to  turn  a  cock  and  apply  a 
candle  and  the  house  or  street  is  lighted. 

Within  these  last  few  days  there  has  been 
posted  upon  the  walls  and  distributed  about 
the  city  a  handbill  offering  a  reward  of  .£1000 
to  any  person  who  will  apprehend  and  bring 
to  the  old  Bailey  for  trial,  Seignor  Napoleon 
Buonaparte,  accused  with  the  murder  of  Captain 
Wright  "  contrary  to  the  statutes  of  Geo.  &c. 
&c.  in  that  case  made  and  provided."  One  of 
the  public  papers  remarks  that  Government 
should  look  to  this  handbill,  but  as  it  appears 
so  much  like  catching  the  devil  it  is  pretty 
well  understood  to  be  a  hoax. 

The  Tower  of  London  is  a  large  pile  of 
[       31       ] 


ENGLAND  IN   18 IS 

buildings  surrounded  by  a  deep  moat.  At  my 
entering  within  the  walls  I  was  joined  by  one 
of  the  yeomen  of  the  guards  as  a  conductor. 
He  was  habited  in  the  uniform  worn  by  that 
corps  ever  since  the  reign  of  Henry  the  7th, 
which  is  grotesque  enough  !  In  the  first  place 
he  conducted  me  to  the  Spanish  armory  where 
there  is  an  immense  collection  of  the  arms 
used  by  the  Spaniards  in  their  attempts  to  in- 
vade England  with  the  Armada.  Queen  Eliza- 
beth's effigy  dressed  in  the  identical  clothes 
worn  by  her  at  that  time  is  in  this  room,  stand- 
ing by  the  side  of  her  horse.  The  horse  ar- 
moury, where  are  the  seventeen  kings  from 
William  to  George  the  2°*^  on  horseback,  is 
next  shown.  This  room  also  contains  a  great 
many  suits  of  very  ancient  armor  preserved  in 
the  highest  perfection.  The  attendant  gener- 
ally gabbles  through  the  history  of  these  curi- 
osities in  a  dull  monotonous  tone,  and  should 
you  imfortunately  ask  him  a  question  in  the 
middle  of  his  story,  you  must  have  the  pa- 
tience to  hear  it  all  over  again,  as  they  never 
can  tell  where  they  stopped.  One  of  the  effi- 
gies of  a  king  whose  armor  had  been  taken  off 
[        32        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

to  be  repaired  had  a  dirty  old  bed  blanket 
thrown  over  his  head  and  shoulders.  He  of 
course  made  a  most  laughable  appearance  sit- 
ting on  horseback  among  his  brother  kings  in 
polished  armor.  My  guide,  not  noticing  the 
circumstance,  when  he  came  to  him  went  on 
with  countenance  unmoved  in  his  story —  "  this 
is  King  &c.,  with  his  polished  armor  of  steel, 
&c  &c."  Upon  my  laughing  out  at  his  de- 
scription of  the  poor  blanketed  king,  he  looked 
up  and  exclaimed  "  Oh  dear !  1  've  forgotten ; 
his  armor 's  gone  to  be  mended !  "  The  Volun- 
teer Armoury  is  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
whole,  containing  more  than  thirty  thousand 
stands  of  arms,  most  fancifully  arranged  into 
pillars  and  other  devices.  The  next  is  the  Sea 
Armoury,  containing  arms  sufficient  for  50,000 
sailors  and  marines.  In  the  royal  train  of  ar- 
tillery are  many  curious  cannon  and  mortars, 
the  trophies  of  victories.  Last  is  shown  the 
Jewel  Office,  where  the  Regalia  are  kept.  This  is 
shown  through  iron  bars  to  prevent  theft.  A  few 
weeks  ago  an  insane  woman  made  an  attempt 
to  snatch  some  of  the  jewels  from  the  crown, 
but  did  not  succeed  in  getting  any  of  them,  al- 
[       33       ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

though  she  considerably  injured  it.  The  value  of 
these  jewels  and  plate  is  two  millions  of  pounds 
sterling.  They  are  shown  to  you  by  a  woman 
who  repeats  parrot-like  her  story.  At  coming 
out  you  write  your  name  and  place  of  residence 
in  a  book  kept  for  the  purpose.  The  yeoman 
points  out  the  rooms  occupied  by  Sir  Francis 
Burdett  ^  during  his  imprisonment  here,  also  the 
room  where  the  young  princes  were  smothered 
by  order  of  Richard  the  Third,  and  the  stair- 
case under  which  they  were  buried.  Tower 
Hill,  so  famed  for  the  executions  performed 
upon  it,  is  near  the  Tower,  and  takes  its  name 
from  that  circumstance. 

In  my  visits  to  Mr.  Webster  I  have  had  oc- 
casion to  notice  the  celebrated  Hospitals  where 
so  many  of  our  physicians  have  received  a  part 
of  their  education.  Guy's  Hospital  is  a  spa- 
cious building  designed  for  the  reception  of  pa- 
tients afflicted  with  any  disease.  In  front  is  a 
large  court-yard  wherein  stands  the  statue  of 

^  Sir  Francis  Burdett,  who  published  in  CobbetVs  Register 
in  1810  a  letter  denying  the  right  of  the  Commons  to  im- 
prison for  libel.  His  arrest  being  ordered  he  created  quite  a 
sensation  by  barricading  his  house  and  resisting  arrest  for 
four  days. 

r    34    ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

Sir  Tho'  Guy  its  founder.  Opposite  the  build- 
ing is  St.  Thomas'  Hospital,  a  similar  institu- 
tion. In  one  of  its  courts  is  the  statue  of  Edw*^ 
3'?  and  in  another  of  Eob*  Clayton,  both  its 
benefactors.  There  are  also  several  other  stat- 
ues in  niches.  The  number  of  patients  received 
yearly  into  these  institutions  is  immense. 

They  have  a  wonderful  way  in  this  great 
city  of  showing  off  to  advantage  everything 
they  have  to  sell.  One  has  at  his  windows 
roasting  jacks,  with  shapes  of  birds,  mutton, 
beef,  &c.  cut  out  of  wood  turning  upon  them  ; 
another  a  patent  hat  which  (to  show  that  it  is 
water  proof)  is  floating  in  a  vessel  of  water ; 
another  water  filtering  through  a  stone;  an- 
other men's  eyes,  legs,  arms,  &c.,  to  supply 
the  loss  of  those  members ;  in  short,  there  is 
such  an  endless  variety  of  objects  at  the  shop 
windows  that  it  would  take  a  volume  to  de- 
scribe them.  The  draper's  and  jeweller's  shops 
are  set  out  in  such  an  enticing  manner  that 
it  is  absolutely  dangerous  to  the  purse  of  a 
stranger.  A  one-pound  note  goes  here  just 
about  as  far  as  two  dollars.  Many  articles 
(not  excluding  those  manufactured  here)  are 
[       35        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

retailed  at  but  a  little  lower  price  than  in 
Boston.  This  is  caused  by  the  excessive  taxes 
and  the  high  price  that  all  articles  of  living 
bear.  Beef  is  one  shilling ;  veal  lO*^  ;  butter 
2^  4<^,  and  everything  in  proportion. 

22nd.  This  evening  went  to  Astley's  amphi- 
theatre near  Westminster  Bridge.  The  interior 
is  very  pretty,  lighted  by  a  splendid  chandelier, 
which  descends  through  the  ceiling  and  when 
coming  down  makes  a  beautiful  appearance. 
The  performances  were  of  the  pantomime  and 
equestrian  kind,  the  subject  being  the  Life  and 
death  of  the  high-mettled  racer.  During  this 
piece  there  was  a  correct  representation  of  a 
horse  race.  The  pit  was  railed  through  the  cen- 
tre, and  the  horses  started  from  the  back  of  the 
stage  at  a  long  distance  from  the  audience,  and 
passed  through  the  pit.  A  fox  chase  was  also 
admirably  done,  from  the  starting  of  the  fox 
until  his  death,  the  dogs  and  horses  in  full 
speed  after  the  little  animal.  This  was  so  illu- 
sive that  the  audience  heartily  joined  in  the 
taUy  -  ho  of  the  huntsmen,  etc.  In  the  course 
of  the  harlequinade  a  curious  transformation 
set  the  house  in  a  roar.  A  barber  was  carrying 
[        36        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

a  wig  box  whereupon  was  written  "  Judge  Wis- 
dom's wig."  The  clown  desiring  to  see  it,  he  set 
it  down  and  opened  it,  when  a  large  wig  (such 
as  the  judges  in  this  country  wear  upon  the 
bench)  appeared.  Harlequin  struck  it  with  his 
sword  and  out  marched  a  venerable  owl  who 
majestically  stalked  across  the  stage  and  made 
his  exit.  Such  success  had  this  piece  met  with 
that  tonight  was  the  one  hundredth  night  of  its 
representation. 

23'^'^  Being  Sunday  I  attended  divine  ser- 
vice at  Whitehall  chapel.  Before  this  place 
Charles  the  1^*  was  beheaded.  It  was  formerly 
designed  as  a  banqueting  house.  The  inside  is 
handsome ;  at  one  end  is  a  splendid  canopy, 
composed  of  crimson  and  gold,  erected  for  the 
allied  sovereigns  when  upon  their  visit  to  this 
country  the  last  summer.  Here  are  also  sus- 
pended the  banners  captured  from  the  enemies 
of  England  at  different  periods,  among  them 
some  French  eagles,  and  four  or  five  American 
standards  taken  at  Detroit  and  Queenstown. 
The  galleries  were  filled  with  officers  and  sol- 
diers, being  the  church  that  the  military  attend. 
The  preacher  was  a  very  good  one ;  the  subject 
[       37       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

of  his  discourse  being  the  comfort  derived  from 
a  religious  life,  particularly  under  the  loss  of 
friends.  The  music  was  admirably  performed  by 
the  Duke  of  York's  band.  The  introduction  of 
the  trumpet  particularly  gave  it  a  grand  and 
sublime  effect.  I  was  not  a  little  distracted  from 
my  devotions  in  looking  at  the  ceiling,  which 
is  finely  painted ;  the  subject  (being  designed 
for  the  banqueting  room)  presented  a  curious 
contrast  to  the  solemnity  of  the  service. 

Very  near  this  place  are  the  King's  mews, 
which  I  went  through.  There  are  some  fine 
horses  here,  particularly  six  cream-colored  ones, 
whose  skins  were  so  sleek  that  they  resembled 
satin.  They  are  scarcely  ever  used  except  when 
the  Prince  goes  to  Parliament.  The  expense  of 
keeping  these  beasts  amounts  to  more  than 
President  Madison's  salary,  yet  they  are  quite 
useless  a  great  part  of  the  time.  I  asked  my 
friend  who  accompanied  me  if  he  did  not  feel 
a  pride  in  showing  a  plain  republican  aU  this 
grandeur  (for  the  building  was  like  a  palace). 
He  replied  in  the  affirmative,  but  his  self  satis- 
faction was  not  a  little  dissipated  on  my  re- 
minding him  that  he  by  taxes,  &c.  dearly  had 
[       38       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

to  pay  for  it.  Seeing  all  this  unnecessary  ex- 
pense to  a  country  groaning  beneath  its  weight 
of  taxes,  must  make  an  American  more  dearly 
appreciate  the  simplicity  of  the  establishment 
of  his  own  government,  which  has  excluded  this 
useless  waste  of  money. 

I  took  dinner  at  Kentish  Town,  a  small  vil- 
lage three  miles  from  London.  The  hospitality 
with  which  I  was  treated  was  highly  gratifying 
to  me,  a  stranger.  In  the  evening  I  attended 
divine  service  and  was  pleased  with  the  church, 
a  small  neat  building,  the  sides  of  which  were 
full  of  monuments,  many  of  them  handsomely 
sculptured.  The  service  was  devoutly  performed. 
There  is  something  so  inexpressibly  solemn  in 
beholding  old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  upon 
their  knees  supplicating  the  Supreme  Being  to 
hear  their  prayers,  that  I  wish  it  were  adopted 
into  our  form  of  worship.  Gloria  Patri  sung  by 
a  choir  of  small  children  had  a  charming  effect. 
The  subject  of  the  discourse  was  our  duty  to 
love  God  with  all  our  might  and  strength.  The 
preacher  was  a  good  one  and  seemed  to  feel 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  his  subject. 

On  Monday  morning  I  went  to  London  and 
[        39        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

at  night  attended  Drury  Lane  to  see  Kean  in 
Richard  the  Third.  He  is  quite  a  favorite  of 
the  town.  His  conception  of  the  character  is 
just,  and  in  many  scenes  falls  not  short  of  Cooke, 
but  his  voice  is  so  bad  that  when  he  attempts 
to  raise  it  above  a  certain  pitch  it  destroys  the 
effect  of  his  acting.  The  after  piece  was  a  mod- 
ern production  of  the  kind  where  sense  is  ban- 
ished to  please  the  eye  with  fine  scenery,  &c. 

26t'»  This  day  went  through  St.  Paul's 
cathedral.  The  particular  description  of  this 
wonderful  building  is  so  well  known  to  all  that 
to  attempt  it  would  be  unnecessary.  It  is  a 
source  of  great  regret  that  it  is  in  so  crowded 
a  situation.  There  should  be  a  large  space  un- 
encumbered with  buildings,  around  it,  to  show 
it  to  advantage.  In  the  court  of  the  building 
are  many  fine  marble  monuments.  These  are 
daily  augmenting,  as  it  is  appropriated  for 
that  purpose,  in  the  manner  of  Westminster 
Abbey  which  is  now  quite  full.  From  the  gal- 
leries are  suspended  many  tattered  flags.  Some 
of  these  were  taken  by  the  Duke  of  Marlborough 
at  Blenheim.  The  model  of  St.  Paul's  in  one 
of  the  towers  is  a  great  curiosity.  It  was  made 
[        40        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

by  Sir  Christopher  "Wren,  and  it  was  intended 
to  have  this  church  built  like  it.  The  floor  of 
the  Library  is  also  very  curious,  being  com- 
posed of  a  vast  number  of  pieces  put  together 
without  nails.  From  the  whispering  gallery  you 
can  look  down  into  the  court  or  area  below,  and 
such  is  the  amazing  distance  that  a  man  walk- 
ing there  looks  no  larger  than  a  mite.  Passing 
up  the  great  number  of  stairs  through  one  of 
the  small  towers  is  apt  to  bring  to  mind  scenes 
described  in  romances.  When  I  descended  from 
the  dome,  I  found  that  the  service  had  just 
begun  in  the  chapel.  Curiosity  led  me  in  and 
I  found  eight  or  ten  men  and  boys  dressed  in 
dirty  surplices  chanting  prayers  in  such  a  lazy, 
ridiculous  manner  that  had  I  not  been  dis- 
gusted with  the  impropriety  of  it  I  should 
have  laughed  outright.  I  thought  that  they 
had  not  only  "  erred  and  strayed  "  but  sung 
like  "  lost  sheep."  It  rather  resembled  the 
braying  of  an  ass.  If  this  is  the  way  the  Deity 
is  to  be  petitioned,  I  should  like  to  know  what 
idea  the  chapter  of  St.  Paul's  has  of  Him. 
There  were  not  more  than  twenty  auditors 
present  for  such  mockery  was  more  calculated 
[       41       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1816 

to  drive  them  hence  than  to  invite  more.  In 
almost  every  room  in  the  building  is  a  person 
who  demands  two-pence  for  showing  it.  This  is 
a  great  disgrace  to  a  nation  possessed  of  the 
taste  to  erect  such  a  magnificent  pile.  It  is  the 
fashion,  however,  in  this  coimtry  to  demand  a 
fee  for  showing  all  curiosities,  either  public  or 
private. 

In  walking  the  streets  in  the  city  a  person 
must  always  keep  upon  the  right-hand  side  or 
he  will  receive  many  a  knock.  The  carriages 
always  drive  the  reverse.  There  is  always  an 
immense  number  in  the  street,  extending  as  fax 
as  the  eye  can  reach,  one  line  coming  and  an- 
other going,  the  side  paths  so  full  at  the  same 
time  of  foot  passengers,  that  if  one  makes  a 
full  stop  he  stops  fifty  behind.  As  I  came  from 
the  church  I  met  a  funeral.  It  was  preceded 
by  two  mutes,  with  black  staffs  and  bands, 
then  a  man  bearing  a  board  full  of  black  os- 
trich feathers  upon  his  head;  after  this  the 
plumed  hearse  "  came  nodding  on  "  followed 
by  mourning  coaches  and  mutes  in  bands  and 
cloaks.  There  is  always  enough  to  attract  a 
stranger's  attention  in  the  streets  of  London ; 
[        42        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1816 

persons  with  large  labels  pasted  upon  boards 
to  inform  you  where  are  the  best  eating  houses, 
or  who  always  sells  the  highest  prize,  or  some 
wonderful  medicine  that  cures  every  disease. 
These  fellows  thrust  small  papers  into  your 
hands  as  you  pass  by.  Any  tradesman  who  has 
served  the  royal  family,  even  in  the  minutest 
articles,  immediately  becomes  pastry-cook,  &c. 
to  his  royal  highness  the  prince  regent,  and  by 
raising  the  royal  arms  elegantly  carved  and 
gilded  over  his  door  takes  special  care  that 
none  shall  remain  ignorant  of  his  honor.  I 
happened  to  meet  in  the  street  the  Lord  Mayor 
and  sheriffs  returning  in  state  from  Guildhall. 
The  coach  is  carved  and  gilt  aU  over.  The 
picture  of  it  is  in  almost  every  child's  picture 
book.  This,  as  well  as  the  liveries  of  the  ser- 
vants, is  in  the  same  style  which  has  been  in 
use  for  years.  The  whole  equipage  is  most 
plentifully  bedaubed  with  gold.  The  mace 
bearer  was  in  the  carriage  with  the  mayor,  and 
the  sheriffs  in  their  carriages  followed,  —  the 
whole  escorted  by  a  mob  of  boys  huzzaing ! 

28th     Today  went  to  Greenwich.  The  road 
is  over  London  Bridge.  This  bridge  is  esteemed 
[       43       ] 


i 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

to  be  quite  unsafe  and  is  to  be  pulled  down  and 
another  erected  in  its  stead.  Near  the  bridge 
the  Monument  "  like  a  tall  bully  lifts  its  head 
and  lies! "  This  is  all  accounted  in  a  ruinous 
condition  and  is  considerably  out  of  the  per- 
pendicular, so  much  so  that  the  workmen  ap- 
prehend considerable  trouble  whenever  it  is 
removed,  as  the  upper  stones  act  as  a  binder 
or  balance  and  when  taken  off  will  cause  the 
bottom  part  to  fall.  From  London  Bridge  there 
is  a  fine  view  of  the  shipping  and  boats  on  the 
river.  On  the  road  I  observed  an  inn-keeper's 
sign  with  this  inscription  : 

"  Thomas  Smith,  formerly  coachman  to  the 
honorable  Alexander  Hope  " 

This  man,  it  seems,  is  not  ashamed  to  tell  who 
he  was ! 

I  found  Greenwich  hospital  to  be  indeed  a 
"  royal  institution."  Its  appearance  bespeaks 
more  the  magnificence  of  a  palace  than  a  re- 
ceptacle for  the  infirm  and  aged.  I  saw  many 
old  seamen  reclining  at  their  ease  beneath  the 
piazza.  They  were  clothed  in  blue  clothes  and 
cocked  hats.  Many  of  these  hardy  veterans  had 
[        44        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

lost  an  arm  or  leg,  and  almost  all  were  scarred. 
Each  one  has  a  little  cabin  fitted  up  like  the 
stateroom  of  a  ship.  These  are  kept  perfectly 
clean  and  neat,  and  many  of  them  are  orna- 
mented with  little  pictures,  &c.  according  to 
the  fancy  of  the  occupant.  One  who  had  been 
in  the  Battle  of  the  Nile  had  Nelson's  portrait 
and  a  picture  of  the  action  to  adorn  his  cabin. 
These  little  luxuries  are  at  their  private  ex- 
pense, as  they  have  a  shilling  a  week  tobacco 
money  allowed  them  by  the  institution.  This 
and  similar  establishments  for  the  comfort  of 
aged  and  infirm  warriors  have  conduced  in  a 
great  manner  to  make  England  "  invincible  in 
arms,"  as  the  sailor  has  the  comfortable  assur- 
ance that  his  country  will  not  neglect  him  in 
his  old  age,  who  has  devoted  his  younger  days 
to  its  service.  The  hall  of  the  hospital  is  a  most 
beautiful  place.  The  ceiling  was  painted  by  Sir 
James  Thornhill.  There  are  many  ingenious 
deceptions  in  the  painting  of  the  sides  also,  such 
as  pillars,  doors,  &c.  A  gentleman  who  was 
present  with  some  ladies  in  company,  had  a  key 
handed  to  him  by  the  guide  who  told  him  to  go 
through  a  door  in  the  wall  and  show  the  ladies 
[        45        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

the  garden.  He  readily  took  the  key  but  was 
not  a  little  mortified  at  finding  that  what  he 
and  all  the  spectators  present  had  taken  for  a 
door  was  only  a  deception  of  painting.  In  this 
hall  is  a  superb  car  whereon  Lord  Nelson's  re- 
mains were  carried  to  St.  Paul's  for  interment, 
also  a  splendid  vase  and  furniture  for  the  hall 
to  the  amount  of  X10,000,  presented  by  a  widow 
lady.  The  chapel  opposite  is  very  elegant.  The 
floor  is  of  checquered  marble.  Over  the  altar 
is  a  picture  of  the  shipwreck  of  St.  Paul,  by 
West.  The  observatory,  (so  celebrated)  is  situ- 
ated in  a  park  of  great  extent,  from  which  there 
is  a  noble  view  of  London  and  the  river  Thames. 
A  stranger  finds  no  difficulty  in  getting  a  con- 
veyance at  any  hour  in  the  day  to  any  of  the 
adjoining  villages,  as  there  are  coaches  which 
ply  to  and  from  the  dijBPerent  places,  the  fares 
of  which  are  quite  moderate,  being  from  Lon- 
don to  Greenv,  \;h  (six  miles)  one  shilling.  In 
every  noted  street  in  the  city  coaches  stand  at 
all  hours  of  the  day  and  night.  They  are  not 
so  elegant  as  ours,  yet  are  decent.  The  drivers 
are  kept  in  order  by  the  severity  of  the  laws. 
They  are  obliged  to  give  you  a  ticket  of  their 
C       46       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

number  if  you  demand  it,  which  is  evidence  as 
to  the  carriage  in  case  they  take  improper  fees, 
or  otherwise  impose  upon  you.  The  magistrates 
always  severely  punish  these  fellows  when  found 
guilty. 

29th  This  evening  went  to  Drury  Lane  and 
saw  Kean  perform  Penruddock  in  "  The  Wheel 
of  Fortune."  I  think  I  never  saw  finer  acting. 
He  particularly  excels  in  characters  where  the 
voice  is  not  to  be  raised  very  high.  Mr.  Bartley 
performed  in  the  farce  Sir  David  Dimder.  This 
he  did  in  his  admirable  style.  He  is  famous  in 
the  character  of  Sir  John  Falstaff. 

30th  This  day  walked  out  to  Chelsea  to  view 
the  hospital.  It  is  a  similar  establishment  to 
Greenwich,  being  for  the  comfort  of  decayed 
soldiers.  The  edifice  is  not  so  elegant  as  that 
of  Greenwich,  but  the  situation  is  airy  and 
pleasant.  I  found  the  soldiers  in  the  chapel,  a 
plain  room  ornamented  with  a  picture  over  the 
altar  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  with  the  sol- 
diers around  the  tomb.  The  hardy  looking  vet- 
erans were  all  kneeling  at  their  prayers.  There 
were  a  great  many  strangers  present.  Passing 
from  the  chapel  I  entered  the  dining-hall  and 
[       47       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

found  the  dinner-table  spread  in  a  neat  and 
clean  manner.  Each  soldier  is  allowed  for  his 
Sunday  dinner  a  pound  of  meat,  a  loaf  of  bread, 
k  quarter  of  a  pound  of  cheese  and  a  quart  of 
beer.  At  one  end  of  this  room  is  a  fine  picture 
representing  Charles  the  Second  trampling  Re- 
bellion under  foot.  In  the  background  is  the 
hospital,  to  which  he  was  a  benefactor.  View- 
ing the  ease  with  which  these  old  soldiers  pass 
the  remnant  of  their  days  makes  me  feel  not  a 
little  ashamed  of  my  native  land,  nor  could  I 
help  contrasting  the  comfort  of  their  lives  with 
many  of  our  old  Revolutionary  patriots,  who 
bled  for  the  independence  of  that  country  which 
leaves  them  in  old  age  to  indigence  and  want. 
Returning  I  passed  through  St.  James  and 
Hyde  Parks.  These  are  delightful  promenades. 
Over  the  canal  is  a  gingerbread  looking  bridge 
of  the  Chinese  fashion,  which  was  erected  when 
the  grand  jubilee  took  place.  St.  James'  and 
Queen's  palaces  are  quite  inferior  looking  build- 
ings. There  are  many  handsome  squares  and 
streets  in  the  west  part  of  the  town,  which  is 
the  residence  of  the  nobility  and  gentry.  In  the 
evening  attended  divine  service  at  the  Magdalen 
[        48        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

hospital,  a  receptacle  for  penitent  prostitutes. 
The  Duke  of  Gloucester  and  the  Princess  Sophia 
were  present.  They  are  children  of  the  king's 
brother.  They  came  in  the  carriage  with  serv- 
ants and  attendants  in  abundance.  The  church 
was  very  much  crowded.  The  "magdalena" 
were  in  a  gallery,  screened  from  the  view  of 
the  audience.  The  subject  of  the  sermon  was 
the  resurrection  of  our  Saviour,  at  the  close  of 
which  an  affecting  appeal  was  made  to  the  pen- 
itents. The  music  was  very  fine.  The  choir  was 
composed  of  the  unfortunate  girls,  whose  leader 
was  a  woman  who  formerly  received  the  benefit 
of  this  institution,  is  now  reputably  married, 
and  is  hired  for  that  purpose.  When  I  reflected 
how  many  females  were  rescued  from  perdition 
by  this  admirable  institution  I  could  not  with- 
hold my  prayers  in  the  words  of  the  anthem 
"  that  these  walls  might  be  with  gladness 
crowned,"  nor  could  I  help  regretting  how  few 

of  our  sex  there  are 

"  who  scorn 
To  plant  within  the  female  breast  a  lasting  thorn." 

When  I  arrived  at  my  friend's  door,  a  gentle- 
man who  was  in  company  took  his  handkerchief 
C       49       3 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

out  to  wipe  his  face,  and  in  returning  it  to  his 
pocket  a  person  behind  received  it  into  his  hand 
and  made  off.  This  afforded  us  much  mirth,  as 
a  person  here  never  gets  his  pocket  picked  but 
he  is  laughed  at  for  complaining  about  it. 

Ist  May.  This  day  the  chimney  sweeps  have 
a  grand  jubilee.  These  sons  of  soot  parade  the 
streets  fantastically  dressed  out  in  gUt  paper 
jackets  with  gaudy  wreaths  aroimd  their  heads, 
their  faces  besmeared  with  soot,  and  their  hair 
powdered.  They  go  from  house  to  house  begging 
money.  Lady  Montague,  who  had  lost  her  son, 
and  after  a  very  long  search  found  him  appren- 
ticed to  a  sweep,  left  by  will  a  sum  of  money 
to  purchase  annually  a  dinner  at  Paddington 
for  as  many  of  these  sable  sons  as  choose  to 
attend.  The  hackney  coachmen  also  have  abund- 
ance of  ribbons  on  their  hats  in  honor  of  the 
season. 

It  being  a  charming  morning  I  went  to 
Westminster  Abbey.  My  way  was  over  West- 
minster Bridge  which  is  much  the  handsomest 
structure  of  the  kind  which  is  finished.  Being 
rather  heated  with  walking  I  took  a  turn  into 
[       60       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

Westminster  Hall  to  cool  myself,  as  the  damp- 
ness of  the  Abbey  renders  it  dangerous  to  go 
into  in  that  state.  The  Hall  is  quite  large. 
There  were  many  lawyers,  dressed  in  their  gowns 
and  wigs,  promenading  it.  At  one  end  is  the 
Court  of  Chancery,  a  small,  dirty,  dark  room, 
30  feet  square.  The  judge.  Sir  Thomas  Plomer, 
sat  upon  a  bench  at  one  end,  and  the  lawyers 
in  a  pit  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  As  the 
pleadings  were  quite  uninteresting  to  me  I  soon 
left  the  place.  The  Abbey  is  an  ancient  and 
noble  building.  I  entered  at  the  Poets'  Corner ; 
found  divine  service  performing.  The  ejffect  of 
the  organ  through  the  long  arched  aisles  was 
inexpressibly  sublime  and  grand,  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  painted  windows  through  the 
same  truly  beautiful.  Time  has  crumbled  to 
dust  many  of  the  ancient  monuments,  but  the 
great  beauty  of  some  of  the  modern  ones  de- 
serves notice,  particularly  one  to  the  memory 
of  Lady  Nightingale.  It  represents  Death  burst- 
ing from  the  tomb  and  aiming  his  dart  at  the 
bosom  of  the  wife,  who  is  looking  up  with  con- 
fidence expressed  in  her  countenance  for  protec- 
tion from  her  husband,  whose  agony  is  extreme 
C       51       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

at  beholding  her  implore  that  assistance  which 
is  unavailing.  The  work  is  so  weU  done  as  to 
raise  doubts  at  first  of  its  being  marble.  The 
monuments  of  Wolfe,  Chatham,  Pitt  and  Andre 
are  fine  pieces  of  sculpture.  You  are  also 
shown,  to  the  disgrace  of  the  nation,  some  wax 
figures  in  cases.  I  hardly  need  observe  that 
after  viewing  these  fine  pieces  of  workmanship, 
such  baby-works  are  peculiarly  disgusting  and 
insipid.  The  Coronation  chairs  are  here.  In 
the  seat  of  one  of  them  is  the  stone  brought 
from  Scone  in  Scotland  and  on  which  the  Scot- 
tish kings  were  crowned.  I  could  not  resist 
among  the  rest  of  the  visitors  the  desire  to  sit 
in  the  chairs  which  have  been  successively  oc- 
cupied by  a  "line  of  kings."  In  one  of  the 
chapels  are  hung  the  banners  of  the  Knights 
of  the  Garter,  with  the  crests  and  armorial 
bearings,  beneath  which  are  seats  for  their  use 
on  state  occasions.  The  workmen  were  repair- 
ing one  end  of  the  Abbey  which  was  damaged 
some  years  ago  by  fire. 

In  the  afternoon  went  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. The  room  in  which  the  members  sit  is 
40  feet  by  80  feet,  and  not  much  more  elegant 
[        52        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

than  our  old  court-house  at  Boston.  Over  the 
Speaker's  chair  are  the  royal  arms,  carved  and 
gilded.  The  Speaker  (Mr.  Abbott)  seemed  to 
be  quite  an  active  man.  His  head  was  covered 
with  a  large  wig  similar  to  those  the  judges 
wear.  The  Commons  were  debating  upon  the 
propriety  of  accepting  a  most  impudent  petition 
from  the  city  against  going  to  war  with  Bona- 
parte. In  this  petition  they  called  the  Parlia- 
ment a  corrupt  one,  and  the  ministry  wicked, 
weak  and  dangerous  men.  Lord  Castlereagh 
made  no  reply.  The  speakers  were  Whitbread, 
Best,  Ponsonby,  Vansittart,  Sumner,  Curtis, 
Burdett,  Baring,  Tiemey  and  Peele.  Whit- 
bread resembles  Otis  in  fluency  and  Ponsonby 
Dexter  in  solidity  of  arguing.  The  rest  were 
not  above  mediocrity.  Sir  Francis  Burdett  was 
a  miserably  bad  orator,  I  think,  but  it  is  hazard- 
ing perhaps  a  hasty  opinion  that  the  talents  of 
our  State  Legislature  would  not  lose  much  by 
a  comparison  with  that  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. 

May  4th.  This  day  it  is  the  custom  for  the 
priests  and  parish  officers  to  take  a  number  of 
boys  of  the  parish  to  the  boxmdaries  of  it  for 
[        53        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

the  purpose  of  perpetuating  in  their  memories 
the  recollection  of  it.  I  chanced  to  be  in  a 
warehouse  which  stood  in  two  parishes,  and 
was  a  witness  to  the  novelty.  The  boys,  headed 
by  the  officers,  entered  without  ceremony  into 
the  place,  and  with  wands  which  they  had, 
struck  a  plate  of  brass  affixed  to  the  wall. 
Sometimes  they  meet  with  the  boys  of  another 
parish,  and  not  infrequently  does  a  combat 
ensue. 

The  Queen  ^  held  a  levee  this  morning.  The 
park  was  crowded  with  spectators  to  see  the 
company  go  into  the  palace.  The  equipages  were 
extremely  brilliant.  Many  of  the  carriages  had 
behind  three  great  fellows  with  splendid  liveries 
and  gold-headed  canes  in  their  hands.  The  gen- 
tlemen wore  powdered  hair  and  bags ;  the  ladies 
were  elegantly  dressed  with  three  ostrich  plumes 
on  their  heads,  in  the  manner  of  the  Prince 
Regent's  plume.  Many  of  these  fair  dames  had 
them  of  such  immoderate  length  that  they  were 
obliged  to  sit  stooping  for  fear  the  top  of  the 
carriage  would  discompose  their  head-dress. 
The  most  singular  spectacle  was  some  ladies  in 

^  Queen  Charlotte  Sophia,  wife  of  George  IH. 
[        54        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

sedan-chairs,  dressed  with  hoop  petticoats,  pre- 
ceded by  two  and  three  footmen.  The  Prince 
Regent  ^  and  Duke  of  Kent  surrounded  with  a 
body  of  fine  horse-guards  passed  along  in  their 
carriages  with  great  rapidity.  Guards  were  also 
stationed  along  the  park  where  they  drove. 
The  Prince  Regent  is  not  very  fond  of  showing 
himself  to  the  people,  as  they  take  a  disagree- 
able liberty  of  speaking  very  frankly  to  him.  He 
endured  much  mortification  when  the  Emperor 
of  Russia  was  here  last  year,  for  when  he  made 
his  appearance  with  him,  the  mob  would  cry 

out  aloud,  "  You  d d  rascal,  where 's  your 

wife  ?  " 

At  night  attended  Covent  Garden  Theatre 
to  see  Mr.  Kemble  and  Miss  O'Neil  in  the  play 
of  The  Stranger.  The  performances  this  even- 
ing were  never,  in  my  opinion,  surpassed  for 
excellence.  Kemble  has  a  very  singular  voice, 
and  I  think  is  a  little  too  formal  and  precise, 
yet  his  acting  is  elegant.  When  I  speak  of 
Miss  O'Neil  I  cannot  find  words  to  express 

*  The  Prince  Regent,  later  George  IV,  married  Caroline 
Amelia  Elizabeth  of  Brunswick  in  1795,  whom  he  neglected 
and  later  tried  to  divorce. 

C       65       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

sufficiently  my  admiration  of  her  acting.  It  is 
said  she  excels  Mrs.  Siddons  when  she  first  ap- 
peared upon  the  London  boards.  Her  person 
is  most  beautiful.  She  possesses  a  fine  tonic 
voice  and  a  very  expressive  countenance. 

I  observed  at  a  print  shop  a  paper  headed 
"  British  Valor."  It  was  a  proposal  to  publish 
two  prints  representing  the  victory  of  his 
Majesty's  ship  "  Endymion  "  over  the  Amer- 
ican frigate  "President,"  with  a  compari- 
son of  the  respective  weights  of  metal  and 
number  of  men,  whereby  is  shown  the  vast 
superiority  of  the  latter  over  the  former  — 
'  the  whole  designed  by  a  relative  of  Captain 
Hope  of  the  "  Endymion." '  John  Bull  swal- 
lows all  this  nor  would  disbelieve  it  if  Admiral 
Hotham's  letter  was  in  the  next  window,  for 
he  has  always  been  taught  that  "  Britannia 
rules  the  waves." 

7th.  Attended  divine  service  at  St.  Andrew's 
church.  The  subject  of  the  discourse  was  the 
ascension  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  was  not  much 
pleased  with  the  preacher.  He  seemed  to  be 
quite  insensible  to  the  importance  of  his  sub- 
ject. The  church  is  adorned  with  a  painted 
C       56       3 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

window  representing  in  one  compartment 
Christ's  Last  Supper,  and  in  another  the  As- 
cension. These  paintings  are  more  than  two 
hundred  years  of  age,  yet  the  colors  remain 
perfect  and  brilliant.  At  each  side  of  the  organ 
are  paintings ;  one  representing  our  Saviour  heal- 
ing the  blind  ("  and  after  that  He  put  His  hands 
again  upon  his  eyes  and  made  him  look  up  and 
he  was  restored  and  saw  every  man  clearly." 
Matt.  8;25)  ;  the  other  His  delivering  His  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount.  "  He  went  up  into  a  moun- 
tain and  when  He  was  set  His  disciples  came 
unto  him."  I  think  the  fine  paintings  illus- 
trating the  events  of  our  Saviour's  life  with 
which  the  English  churches  abound  are  calcu- 
lated— 

"  To  raise  at  once  our  reverence  and  delight, 
To  elevate  the  mind,  and  charm  the  sight, 
To  pour  religion  through  th'  attentive  eye, 
And  waft  the  soul  on  wings  of  ecstasy. 
For  this  the  mimic  Art  with  Nature  vies, 
And  bids  tlie  visionary  form  arise. 
Who  views  with  sober  awe,  in  thought  aspires, 
Catches  pure  zeal,  and  as  he  gazes  fires. 
Feels  a  new  ardor  to  his  soul  convey'd. 
Submissive  bows,  and  venerates  the  shade." 

(Louth) 

[        57        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

There  were  present  about  two  hundred  charity 
children  who  are  supported  and  educated  by  the 
parish.  They  were  dressed  in  a  neat  blue  uni- 
form appropriate  to  their  condition.  In  the 
evening  went  to  the  Foundling  Hospital,  an  in- 
stitution for  the  reception  of  deserted  infants. 
Here  they  are  maintained  and  educated  until 
of  proper  age  to  be  apprenticed  out.  I  was 
fortunate  enough  to  arrive  at  an  interesting 
period.  Sixteen  young  men  and  women  who 
had  been  apprenticed  out  this  evening  returned 
thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  bringing  them  to 
this  charity  when  they  were  deserted  by  their 
natural  parents.  The  text  of  the  discourse  was 
"  Jesus  wept."  It  was  a  very  finished  composi- 
tion and  particularly  adapted  to  the  occasion. 
The  preacher  in  an  elegant  and  argumentative 
manner  pointed  out  the  advantages  of  Christian 
sensibility  and  inferred  that  from  that  source 
the  support  of  this  institution  flowed.  The  sing- 
ing was  very  beautiful.  Several  eminent  musical 
performers  assisted  the  choir.  There  were  up- 
wards of  five  hundred  of  the  children  present, 
their  ages  from  three  to  eleven  years.  At  the 
end  of  the  chapel  is  a  picture  by  "West  of  Christ 
[        58       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

receiving  little  cliildren.  "  Suffer  little  children 
to  come  unto  Me  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such 
is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  It  is  impossible  to 
see  the  countenance  of  our  Saviour  as  expressed 
by  the  pencil  of  West  without  the  heart  ac- 
knowledging that  this  was  "  the  Man  of  Sor- 
rows and  acquainted  with  grief."  At  the  door 
a  person  stands  to  receive  the  charity  of  the 
visitors,  which  (as  it  is  always  crowded)  amounts 
to  a  very  considerable  sum,  and  as  it  is  under- 
stood that  it  is  strictly  applied  to  the  purpose  of 
the  establishment,  the  liberality  of  the  donors 
is  conspicuous. 

8th.  This  morning  I  spent  four  hours  in  the 
British  Museum.  The  building  is  capacious 
and  contains  curiosities  to  a  vast  amount,  be- 
ing the  collection  of  years.  Here  is  a  grand 
collection  of  Koman  and  Grecian  household 
utensils,  coins,  statues,  &c.  &c. ;  with  this  de- 
partment I  was  particularly  pleased,  as  it  was 
very  interesting  to  behold  relics  which  brought 
us  home,  as  it  were,  to  their  very  households. 
Several  students  were  busied  in  drawing  from 
the  statutes.  The  other  part  of  the  building 
contains  a  large  library,  manuscripts,  minerals, 
[       59       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

and  other  curios,  a  particular  account  of  which 
is  given  in  the  catalogue.  This  institution  is 
shown  with  some  regard  to  national  honor,  as 
no  money  is  allowed  to  be  given  to  the  attend- 
ants, who  are  quite  as  civil  as  those  paupers 
who  show  other  places.  Every  visitor  is 
obliged  to  write  his  name  and  place  of  residence 
in  a  book,  upon  entrance. 

Miss  Linwood's  gallery  of  needlework  is  per- 
haps the  most  extraordinary  exhibition  in  the 
world ;  there  are  fifty-three  large  pictures  done 
by  her  own  hands  with  the  needle,  in  worsted. 
The  execution  of  them  is  so  admirable  that  it 
requires  a  nice  eye  to  discriminate  between  them 
and  paintings.  Jeptha  sacrificing  his  daughter 
and  a  head  of  our  Saviour  are  particularly  fine. 
In  one  room  fitted  up  to  resemble  a  Gothic 
abbey  are  apartments  wherein  are  many  inter- 
esting pieces  executed  in  the  most  natural 
manner. 

At  night  went  to  Sadler's  Wells,  a  little 
theatre  at  Islington.  The  house  was  crowded 
with  spectators;  the  performances  were  of  the 
lowest  kind  of  buffoonery  and  harlequinade. 
Grimaldi  the  celebrated  clown  performed.  His 
[        60        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

fame  has  certainly  not  been  over-rated,  as  he  is 
one  of  the  drollest  dogs  I  ever  beheld.  The 
amusement  of  the  evening  concluded  with  a 
representation  of  the  Battle  of  the  Nile,  on  real 
water.  The  battle  ships  mancBuvered  about  in 
a  dashing  style.  The  whole  concluded  with 
blowing  up  of  the  French  ship  L'Orient. 

This  month  the  exhibition  of  paintings  at 
Somerset  House  is  open  for  the  reception  of 
visitors.  The  building  is  magnificent  and  has 
beside  the  apartment  for  the  exhibition  many 
rooms  for  public  offices.  The  pictures  exhibited 
were  above  one  thousand,  and  consisted  of  the 
choicest  works  of  the  artists.  With  pleasure  I 
observed  two  pieces  done  by  Americans,  one  by 
Allston  representing  the  Lady  Mencia  in  Gil 
Bias  recovering  from  a  swoon  in  the  cave  of  the 
robbers.  It  was  finely  executed  but  it  appeared 
to  great  disadvantage,  being  placed  in  a  bad 
light.  Morse's  ^  picture  did  not  so  warmly  meet 
my  approbation,  as  his  subject,  young  Payne 
in  the  character  of  Zaphna,  was  not  calculated 
to  display  much  taste.  The  pictures  which  most 
pleased  me  were  the  "  Distraining  for  Rent " 

^  S.  F.  B.  Morse,  the  inTentor  of  the  telegraph. 
[        61        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

and  the  "  Departure  for  London."  In  the  first 
the  terror  and  grief  which  the  poor  cottagers 
are  thrown  into  by  the  sheriff's  officer  and 
their  nonchalance  in  the  midst  of  it,  with  all 
the  minutiae  of  the  furniture  of  an  humble  cot 
are  so  well  delineated  that  the  illusion  is  com- 
plete, and  you  are  placed  in  the  midst  of  the 
scene.  In  the  "  Departure  for  London  "  an  old 
man  has  a  young  one  by  the  hand  while  the  rest 
of  the  family  are  busied  in  packing  his  trunk 
for  the  journey.  In  the  background  a  domestic 
is  tying  his  dog  to  prevent  his  following  him. 
The  anxiety  of  the  old  man's  countenance  was 
forcibly  expressed.  He  seems  to  be  saying  "Take 
care  that  the  temptations  of  the  great  city  do 
not  undermine  those  good  principles  which  it 
has  been  my  greatest  pleasure  to  inculcate." 
There  were  many  fine  specimens  of  sculpture 
[in  Somerset  House] ;  in  particular  one  designed 
as  a  monument  to  General  Brock  who  was  killed 
in  Upper  Canada. 

In  the  afternoon  curiosity  led  me  and  two 

friends  to  the  far-famed  King's  Bench  Prison. 

It  is  in  the  Burrough  over  London  Bridge.  The 

walls  around  it  are  very  high  and  capacious. 

[        62        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

Within,  it  resembles  a  small  town.  There  is  a 
market,  coffee-house,  post-o£fice,  bake-house, 
shops,  etc.  etc.  There  were  confined  here  500 
prisoners,  a  great  many  of  whom  were  enjoying 
a  game  of  racket.  Some  were  smoking  and  drink- 
ing and  others  were  promenading  the  yard. 
The  guide  pointed  out  to  us  de  Berenger^  the 
person  who  personated  the  Frenchman  in  Lord 
Cochrane's  hoax.  Lord  Cochrane ^  is  closely  con- 
fined in  a  room  for  making  his  escape  from  his 
imprisonment  here.  After  he  had  done  so  he  took 
his  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons,  where  he  was 
arrested.    We  were  shown   the  room  where 

^  Charles  R.  de  Beranger,  an  officer  in  the  English  army. 

^  Thomas  Cochrane,  later  tenth  Earl  of  Dandonald ;  bom 
1775 ;  died  1860.  He  was  accused  in  1814  of  complicity  in 
originating  a  fraudulent  report  of  the  entrance  of  the  Allies 
into  Paris  and  the  death  of  Napoleon.  This  deception  was  for 
the  purpose  of  influencing  the  stock  market,  and  although 
Lord  Cochrane  claimed  to  be  entirely  innocent,  he  was  im- 
prisoned for  a  year,  fined,  and  expelled  from  the  House  of 
Commons.  His  later  career  was  very  interesting,  for  he  was 
enrolled  successiyely  in  the  Chilean,  the  Brazilian,  and  the 
Greek  nayies,  finally  coming  back  to  the  British  navy,  of 
which  he  was  Admiral,  1848-1854.  He  was  exonerated  in 
1831  by  William  IV  from  all  complicity  in  the  so-called 
"  Hoax  "  mentioned  above,  was  restored  to  his  rank  and 
honors  in  1847  by  Queen  Victoria,  and  in  1877  his  heirs  re- 
covered a  considerable  sum  as  damages  for  his  imprison- 
ment and  loss  of  pay. 

C        63        ] 


ENGLAND   IN  1815 

the  celebrated  Mrs.  Clark  i  was  confined.  It 
was  a  small  place  and  formed  I  should  presume 
quite  a  contrast  to  the  apartments  of  the  royal 
Duke.  There  were  many  genteel  looking  per- 
sons in  confinement.  The  keeper  observed  that 
some  lived  at  the  rate  of  ten  or  twelve  pounds 
a  week  expense  (f50.)  and  that  very  few  who 
came  with  money  ever  departed  with  any,  and 
that  this  was  not  caused  by  the  high  prices  of 
articles,  (for  they  are  at  liberty  to  send  without 
the  walls  for  them)  but  to  an  extravagance  which 
all  become  habituated  to. 

On  our  walk  home  we  passed  by  a  building 
newly  erected  for  the  purposes  of  a  Bedlam. 
Its  exterior  is  perfectly  elegant,  more  resem- 
bling  a  palace  than  a  madhouse.  We  were  not 
permitted  to  view  the  interior  of  the  building. 

In  the  evening  went  to  the  Surrey  Theatre, 
a  small  house  devoted  to  dramatic  and  eques- 
trian performances.  I  was  not  pleased  with  the 
acting,  but  the  scenery  was  quite  as  elegant  as 

1  Mary  Anne  Clarke,  bom,  London,  1776 ;  died,  Boulogne, 
1852.  An  English  •woman  of  obscure  origin,  mistress  of  the 
Duke  of  York  and  notorious  from  public  scandals  arising 
from  this  connection.  She  was  imprisoned  in  1813  for  a  libel- 
lous publication,  and  after  1815  lived  in  Paris. 
[        64        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

at  the  larger  houses.  The  audience  was  of  the 
citizen  order,  the  nobility  never  making  their 
appearance  at  such  common  places  ! 

Sunday,  14th.  Attended  St.  Catherine's 
church  this  morning.  Like  most  churches  in 
which  I  have  been,  it  has  marble  monuments 
in  memory  of  the  dead.  One  of  them  is  a  re- 
cumbent figure  ;  I  thought  it  handsome.  The 
prayers  were  read  remarkably  well,  and  the 
music  consisting  of  a  choir  of  charity  boys  and 
girls  was  good.  The  sermon  was  designed  as 
preparatory  to  a  collection,  to  be  taken  on  the 
ensuing  Sabbath,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding 
missions  and  Bible  societies  ;  the  text  was  Acts 
IQth,  34*''  verse.  The  preacher  observed  in  the 
course  of  it  that  the  ancestors  of  those  present 
once  sacrificed  to  idols,  and  were  it  not  for  the 
exertions  of  missionaries  sent  to  them  by  the 
pious  christians  in  the  earlier  ages  they  might 
now  be  groping  in  "  heathen  darkness "  and 
that  those  places  where  now  stands  the  altar  of 
Christ  but  for  this  might  now  be  the  places 
of  sacrifice  to  idols.  He  aroused  the  feelings  of 
many  a  pious  mother  by  recounting  the  number 
of  infants  sacrificed  in  India  and  the  manner 
[       65        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

in  which  it  was  done  ;  and  he  finally  concluded 
with  the  observation  "that  if  religion  did  not 
command  their  aid,  the  common  principles  of 
humanity  required  it."  At  night  I  went  to  the 
Foundling  Hospital  but  was  not  so  much  grati- 
fied with  the  preacher  as  on  the  last  Sabbath. 
The  subject  was  the  example  of  the  apostles ; 
he  said  that  their  perseverance  in  establishing 
the  gospel  should  be  a  guide  to  us  in  the  prac- 
tice of  its  precepts.  The  music  was  fine,  being 
anthems  and  hymns  set  to  music  by  the  first 
masters. 

16th.  I  left  London  for  the  country.  There 
were  three  passengers  in  the  coach,  a  gentle- 
man and  his  lady  and  a  young  lady,  all  of 
whom  I  found  quite  agreeable  persons.  The 
country  was  beautiful,  as  the  trees  were  in 
bloom,  and  the  pure  air  was  grateful  to  me 
who  had  breathed  nothing  but  coal  smoke  for 
so  long  a  time.  We  passed  many  residences  of 
the  nobility.  Near  Stamford  is  Burleigh  House, 
the  seat  of  the  marquis  of  Exeter.  At  the 
entrance  of  the  park  is  a  most  noble  gateway 
in  the  Gothic  order.  At  Stamford  are  many 
[       &(i       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

churches,  one  of  them  apparently  very  antique. 
The  steeple  to  it  is  of  immense  height.  While 
we  were  here  changing  horses  we  were  almost 
stunned  with  the  music  of  a  peal  of  bells  which 
some  amateur  in  that  science  was  playing  upon. 
At  Newark  we  saw  the  ruins  of  the  castle  of 
that  name,  which  was  destroyed  by  Oliver 
Cromwell  in  the  civil  war.  The  battlements 
were  many  of  them  entire,  and  the  moon  shin- 
ing upon  them  added  very  much  to  their  ro- 
mantic appearance.  At  Ferrybridge  we  crossed 
the  river  Aire  over  a  remarkably  handsome 
stone  bridge.  During  the  journey  I  was  fre- 
quently regaled  with  refreshments  which  the 
gentleman  had  brought  and  which  he  was  so 
polite  as  to  offer  me.  We  traveEed  all  night. 
At  dusk  I  was  not  a  little  surprised  at  behold- 
ing my  fair  fellow  traveller,  who  was  quite  a 
pretty  girl,  take  off  her  bonnet,  tie  on  her 
night  cap,  and  leisurely  compose  herself  to 
sleep  in  one  comer  of  the  coach,  where  she 
made  quite  an  interesting  appearance.  After 
going  with  almost  incredible  swiftness,  we 
arrived  at  Leeds,  at  6  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
being  at  the  rate  of  eight  miles  and  one-third 
[        67        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

each  hour  (inchiding  stoppages  for  refresh- 
ments, changing  horses,  etc.)  —  a  velocity  with 
which  I  desire  never  to  travel  again. 

At  Leeds  in  the  evening  I  saw  the  Indian 
Jugglers,  three  natives  of  India.  Their  perform- 
ances were  wonderful.  They  were  so  out  of 
the  common  sphere  of  exhibitions  of  this  kind 
that  I  was  perfectly  astonished.  The  last  feat 
was  the  swallowing  of  a  sword,  the  blade  of  it 
twenty  inches  in  length.  This  was  not  sleight- 
of-hand,  but  the  practice  of  doing  it  from  a 
child  had  rendered  it  familiar.  The  amazing 
power  of  mechanism  compared  to  manual  labor 
is  demonstrated  at  Leeds  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
At  a  warehouse  I  saw  a  packing  press  having 
thirty-two  tons  power,  arising  from  the  pres- 
sure of  a  pail  of  water  pumped  up  to  the  ceil- 
ing through  a  small  pipe,  and  which  in  return- 
ing forces  the  press  down  with  this  amazing 
weight.  It  is  so  easy  in  its  operation  that  a 
lad  of  eight  years  has  sufficient  strength  for 
the  purpose.  There  are  also  in  Leeds  eighteen 
wagons  for  carrying  coal,  the  weight  of  which 
when  loaded  cannot  be  estimated  at  less  than 
one  hundred  tons.  These  are  propelled  alto- 
[        68        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

gether  by  steam.  They  run  upon  a  perfect 
plane  with  irons  which  fit  into  grooves  on  the 
wheels.  These  wagons  deliver  an  immense 
quantity  of  coal  at  Leeds.  The  price  of  them 
is  about  seven  shillings  a  chaldron  [32  bushel]. 
At  a  manufactory  I  saw  the  different  operations 
from  the  beginning  to  the  finishing  of  a  piece 
of  cloth.  The  whole  machinery  was  put  in 
force  by  a  steam  engine  which  cost  the  pro- 
prietor one  thousand  guineas.  Here  also  were 
imprisoned  about  fifty  wretched  boys  and  girls, 
the  eldest  not  over  ten  years  of  age.  They  were 
all  besmeared  with  dirt  and  grease  arising 
from  the  wool.  The  proprietor  observed  in  reply 
to  my  asking  him  if  they  never  went  to  play, 
that  they  were  there  at  six  in  the  morning  and 
never  left  off  work,  except  for  dinner,  until 
seven  at  night.  Thus  these  poor  little  wretches 
are  confined  in  these  hells  —  for  I  cannot  find 
a  more  appropriate  name  —  deprived  of  edu- 
cation and  buried  in  these  dark,  noisy  and  un- 
wholesome dens.  They  either  pass  a  quick  but 
miserable  existence  or  furnish  turbulent,  ig- 
norant and  vicious  members  of  society. 

19th.  I  dined  this  day  at  the  seat  of  a  gen- 
[       69       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

tieman  a  few  miles  out  of  town.  The  situation, 
surrounded  with  pleasure  grounds  and  gardens, 
was  pleasant.  Among  the  shrubs  in  the  garden 
was  a  barberry  bush,  which  is  here  esteemed 
as  a  great  curiosity.  At  dinner  there  was  a 
number  of  handsome  and  agreeable  ladies  pres- 
ent. This  meal  was  served  up  in  a  most  splen- 
did style.  The  excessive  attention  of  the  ser- 
vants was  to  me  quite  disagreeable.  Lady  F., 
one  of  those  present,  was  very  sociable  and 
asked  me  many  questions  respecting  America. 
Speaking  of  our  navy  she  remarked  that  all 
our  ships  were  manned  by  Englishmen,  and 
proved  the  remark  by  saying  "  Otherwise,  how 
could  they  fight  so?  "  I  was  not  astonished  at 
the  manner  of  her  reasoning  as  I  have  often 
heard  the  same  opinion  expressed  by  many 
persons  when  speaking  of  our  navy.  After  din- 
ner the  whole  party  took  a  walk  through  many 
fine  gardens  and  fields  until  we  came  to  the 
brow  of  a  hill  when  all  at  once  a  most  beauti- 
ful landscape  presented  itself.  At  a  short  dis- 
tance was  a  wood  near  the  banks  of  the  river 
Aire,  over  which  was  thrown  a  pretty  stone 
bridge.  On  the  left  were  the  ruins  of  Kirks- 
[        70       ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

hall  Abbey,  once  a  most  magnificent  building. 
The  grandeur  of  the  turret  is  still  visible  on  a 
nearer  approach.  I  was  highly  gratified.  We 
entered  the  cemetery  under  the  abbey.  Here 
were  several  stone  coffins  which  once  contained 
the  ashes  of  some  nun  or  monk.  The  roof  of 
the  dining  hall  is  quite  entire,  the  gothic  arches 
which  support  it  being  very  beautiful.  The 
southern  window  is  very  fine,  and  quite  per- 
fect. 

Beyond  the  grand  gateway  is  the  hall  or 
chapel.  The  galleries  to  it  are  supported  by 
immense  stone  pillars,  all  in  high  perfection. 
Some  of  the  towers  are  whole ;  one  of  them  had 
a  circular  flight  of  stone  steps  which  led  to  the 
top.  From  vestiges  of  the  walls  aroimd  the 
ruins  which  still  remain,  it  is  presumed  the 
lands  belonging  to  this  institution  were  of 
large  extent.  In  one  part  of  this  land  is  a  large 
cistern  hewn  out  of  solid  stone.  The  venerable 
walls  and  towers  overgrown  with  ivy  and 
tinged  with  the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun, 
together  with  the  delightful  landscape  around, 
rendered  the  scene  truly  charming;  so  much 
was  I  gratified  that  I  determined  to  pay  this 
[       71       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

place  another  visit  before  my  departure.  Dur- 
ing conversation  in  the  evening  a  lady  observed, 
after  one  of  the  young  ladies  had  been  singing 
and  playing,  that  it  was  quite  shocking  now  to 
behold  every  vulgar,  ill-born  wretch  attain  an 
accomplished  education,  and  that  she  under- 
stood that  every  tradesman's  daughter  was 
taught  music,  etc.  Most  unfortunately  she  di- 
rected her  remarks  to  me,  and  by  the  manner 
in  which  they  were  delivered  she  seemed  to  re- 
quire my  assent  to  her  observations.  This  she 
did  not  have,  and  I,  I  suppose,  for  my  repub- 
lican notions,  forfeited  the  lady's  good  opinion 
of  my  politeness. 

20th.  This  being  market  day  here,  I  went  at 
nine  o'clock  into  the  Cloth  Hall.  This  is  quite 
large,  being  four  halls  of  three  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  in  length.  Each  person  has  an  al- 
lotted space,  marked  with  his  name  and  town, 
whereon  he  exhibits  his  cloths  for  sale.  At  the 
ringing  of  a  bell  the  sales  begin  and  continue 
one  hour.  Except  at  that  time  no  one  is  allowed 
to  buy  or  sell  in  the  building.  There  were  on 
this  day  exposed  for  sale  above  one  thousand 
pieces  of  cloth.  The  owners  of  them  spoke  such 
[        72        ] 


ENGI^ND  IN  1815 

a  curious  dialect  that  I  could  not  understand 
one  word  in  ten  they  uttered. 

Part  of  the  Prince  Regent's  own  regiment  is 
stationed  at  Leeds.  They  are  the  finest  looking 
men  I  ever  beheld.  There  are  also  other  sol- 
diers here,  whose  recruiting  parties  parade  the 
street,  with  a  noble  band  of  music.  They  have 
just  passed,  having  two  or  three  country  lump- 
kins  in  company,  to  whom  the  soldiers  have 
given  their  swords  and  exchanged  their  caps 
for  their  hats,  with  which  the  great  boobies 
seemed  as  much  pleased  as  a  child  with  a 
rattle. 

Sunday,  21st.  Attended  divine  service  at  the 
old  church.  This  is  a  venerable  building.  It 
has  a  painted  window ;  over  the  altar  is  a  fine 
picture  of  our  Saviour  taking  the  cup  at  the 
Last  Supper.  The  ceiling  is  also  painted  but 
the  dampness  arising  from  the  floor  (which  is 
used  as  a  burial  place  and  covered  with  stone) 
has  considerably  injured  it.  Here  are  also  sev- 
eral handsome  monuments ;  one  a  beautiful 
piece  of  workmanship  in  marble  representing 
an  angelic  figure  weeping  over  the  flag  of  Eng- 
land. This  was  erected  to  the  memory  of  two 
[        73        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

gallant  officers,  natives  of  Leeds,  who  fell  at 
the  battle  of  Talavera  in  Spain.  In  one  part  of 
the  church  are  hung  the  banner  and  armorial 
bearings  of  several  knights.  The  preacher  was 
tolerable ;  his  subject  was  the  piety  of  Cornelius 
the  centurion.  There  were  fifty  one  banns  of 
marriage  published  this  morning;  in  addition 
to  this  several  couples  were  joined  in  the  holy 
bonds  of  matrimony  previous  to  the  beginning 
of  the  church  service.  The  organ  of  this  church 
is  justly  celebrated  as  being  one  of  the  finest 
toned  ones  in  England.  I  dined  at  Mr.  O's  in 
company  with  the  Mess"^  Hoffman  of  Baltimore. 
The  dinner  was  quite  in  the  family  style.  Mr. 
O.  remarked  that  his  aunt  was  married  by  the 
celebrated  Sterne,  ^  and  that  a  few  days  ago 
he  had  in  his  possession  a  whip  which  formerly 
belonged  to  that  eccentric  character.  After  we 
had  dined  the  company  walked  out  of  town 
upon  a  visit  to  Kirkstall  Abbey.  I  was  no  less 
delighted  now  than  on  my  former  visit.  There 
were  a  number  of  common  people  rambling 
through  the  ruins  of  whom  I  asked  a  variety  of 
questions  respecting  the  antiquity  of  the  place, 
^  This  probably  was  the  Rev.  Laurence  Sterne. 
[        74        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

and  I  received  some  very  curious  answers.  We 
passed  through  the  chapel  at  the  end  of  which 
is  a  noble  large  window  with  some  of  its  orna- 
ments still  remaining.  In  a  small  recess  the 
font  for  holy  water  is  still  perfect,  and  the 
same  is  seen  in  a  number  of  private  chapels 
adjoining  the  great  one.  Ascending  a  flight  of 
stone  steps  we  came  into  a  gallery  from  whence 
a  circular  staircase  leads  into  one  of  the  towers, 
but  owing  to  the  ruinous  state  of  the  steps 
we  did  not  ascend.  Several  boys  had  however 
mounted  to  the  top  in  quest  of  rooks'  nests, 
those  birds  being  the  only  inhabitants  of  this 
once  splendid  structure.  Beneath  the  abbey  is 
a  dungeon,  appropriated  formerly  as  a  place  of 
punishment  for  refractory  nuns  and  friars.  The 
garden  which  is  enclosed  by  the  walls  of  the 
abbey  is  still  kept  in  perfect  order.  The  abbey, 
with  the  surrounding  lands,  belongs  to  the  Earl 
of  Cardigan,  who  endeavors  to  prevent  the 
further  decay  of  the  edifice  by  employing  a 
person  to  take  care  of  it.* 

In  the  evening  I  attended  St.  James'  church, 
a  modem  building,  entirely  destitute  of  orna- 

*  Some  lines  which  I  have  seen  which  were  written  on 
[        75        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

ment.  This  being  Trinity  Sunday,  the  sermon 
was  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  and  was  de- 
livered by  the  preacher  without  notes.  The 
Psalms  were  read  by  a  clerk  with  a  broad 
Yorkshire  dialect,  and  sung  in  a  most  discord- 
ant manner.  At  Mr.  O.'s  I  was  introduced  to 
the  Rev.  Doctor  Kewley  of  New  York,  whose 
church  in  Beekman  Street  having  recently  been 
burned  he  was  enabled  while  it  was  rebuilding 
to  leave  upon  a  visit  to  his  friends  in  England. 
He  politely  gave  me  his  address  with  an  invi- 
tation to  call  upon  him  shoidd  I  visit  New  York. 
22  nd.  Departed  this  morning  in  the  coach 
for  Manchester.  The  passengers  were  three 
agreeable  ladies  and  a  clever  loquacious  Scots- 
man. The  last  person  was  a  great  admirer  of 
Doctor  Franklin,  whose  works  he  had  by  heart 

Tintem  Abbey  are  appropriate  to  this  building.  They  are  as 

follows : 

"  How  many  hearts  hare  here  grown  cold  ; 

That  sleep  the  mould'ring  stones  among. 
How  many  beads  have  here  been  told  I 

How  many  matins  have  been  sung  I 
On  this  rude  stone  by  time  long  broke 

I  think  I  see  some  pilgrim  kneel, 
I  think  I  see  the  censer  smoke, 

I  think  I  hear  the  solemn  peal. 
But  here  no  more  soft  music  floats, 

No  holy  anthems  chaunted  now  ; 
All  hushed  except  the  ring  dove's  notes 

Low  murm'ring  from  yon  beechen  bough," 

[        76        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

and  most  liberally  quoted  from.  The  route  was 
through  Bradford  and  Halifax,  large  manufac- 
turing places.  The  country  was  very  hilly  and 
afforded  many  fine  views.  The  road  in  one  part 
of  our  journey  ran  alongside  a  steep  and  dan- 
gerous precipice,  where  the  least  deviation  of 
the  horses  would  have  hurled  us  to  destruction. 
At  such  an  immense  height  were  we  that  the 
inhabitants  of  a  village  below  in  the  valley 
looked  not  larger  than  crows.  We  dined  at 
Halifax.  Upon  our  entrance  the  landlord's 
ruby-colored  nose  was  brightened  up  with  re- 
newed lustre  and  while  rubbing  his  hands  he 
congratulated  us  upon  our  arrival  at  his  house 
"  at  (to  use  his  own  language)  so  fortunate  a 
period ;  as  he  had  a  fine  fresh  turbot  for  din- 
ner ;  an  article  that  I  do  not  have  more  than 
twice  a  year."  But  alas  !  this  "  fine,  fresh 
turbot "  when  it  came  upon  the  table,  carried 
conviction  to  every  nose  that  the  landlord  had 
been  very  much  deceived  with  regard  to  its 
freshness,  or  had  been  like  Roque  in  the 
Mountaineers  at  "  wonderful  pains  for  a  fort- 
night to  keep  it  sweet." 

At  a  small  village  before  we  entered  Roch- 
[        77        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

dale  it  was  their  market  day.  The  streets  were 
crowded  with  women,  men  and  children,  the 
ugliest,  dirtiest  wretches  I  ever  beheld!  The 
women  in  particular  were  the  most  shocking. 
Old  and  young  had  on  large  caps  with  two  flaps 
at  each  side  which  hung  down  to  their  shoul- 
ders. On  our  appearance  in  the  coach  a  mob  of 
children  were  immediately  let  loose  to  chase 
after  us  to  beg  a  penny.  When  we  entered  the 
suburbs  of  Manchester  the  atmosphere  under- 
went a  total  change ;  from  its  being  very  clear 
weather  it  became  dull  and  foggy.  The  smoke 
which  perpetually  overhangs  this  city  is  the 
cause  of  it.  The  next  day  it  raiaed  incessantly. 
It  seems  as  if  this  were  forever  the  case.  An 
anecdote  is  related  of  a  foreigner  asking  a  per- 
son from  Manchester  whether  or  not  it  had 
done  raining  yet !  This  city  like  almost  all  the 
large  towns  in  Great  Britain  has  an  infirmary 
for  the  reception  of  the  indigent  sick.  The 
building  is  placed  in  a  fine  situation  and  is  a 
handsome  structure.  The  people  of  this  coun- 
try are  renowned  for  their  charities.  There  is 
scarcely  a  place  where  there  is  not  some  insti- 
tution supported  by  private  munificence  for  the 
[        78        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

relief  of  the  poor.  They  first  are  compelled  to 
give  largely  by  the  "poor  laws";  to  this  are 
added  immense  voluntary  contributions.  Were 
it  not  for  these  donations  the  streets  would 
swarm  with  beggars  ;  as  it  is,  there  are  in  the 
large  towns  a  great  many.  I  remarked  an  ad- 
vertisement stuck  upon  the  walls  by  the  civil 
authority  offering  two  guineas  reward  each  for 
the  apprehension  of  thirty-seven  men  who  had 
absconded  and  left  their  families  upon  the  par- 
ish !  This  is  one  of  the  blessings  of  manufac- 
tories ! 

24th  Left  Manchester  for  Liverpool.  The 
country  looked  very  fine.  The  fields  of  wheat 
in  particular  gave  fair  promise  of  a  fine  crop. 
When  I  passed  through  the  country  upon  my 
first  arrival  there  was  written  upon  every  fence 
"no  corn  bill"  — Government  having  passed 
a  bill  for  the  encouragement  of  the  farmers, 
prohibiting  the  introduction  of  flour  or  com  into 
the  kingdom  for  sale,  excepting  the  price  was 
above  80  shillings  per  quartern.  The  manufac- 
turing interest  was  violently  opposed  to  the 
bill,  upon  the  ground  that  if  this  restriction 
was  ojff,  foreign  grain  would  be  afforded  much 
[        79        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

cheaper  than  the  home-raised.  The  ministers 
replied  that  if  corn  could  be  imported,  there 
would  not  be  any  inducement  for  the  farmers 
to  raise  any,  and  that  consequently  they  must 
be  dependent  upon  foreign  nations  for  their 
supply.  In  London  the  populace  were  so  much 
exasperated  at  this  bill  that  they  attempted  to 
tear  down  a  member  of  Parliament's  house  for 
voting  for  it,  and  the  government  had  to  em- 
ploy a  military  force  to  suppress  the  mob. 

Just  at  the  entrance  of  Liverpool  stands  the 
mansion  of  Doctor  Solomon,  of  Balm  of  Gilead 
memory.  He  has  gulled  the  world  to  some  pur- 
pose, if  one  were  to  judge  from  the  splendor 
of  his  establishment.  The  stage  fare  from  Man- 
chester to  Liverpool,  distance  forty  miles,  is 
only  six  shillings.  This  is  caused  by  the  strong 
opposition,  as  there  are  eight  or  ten  coaches 
continually  running  between  those  places.  Be- 
sides the  fare  in  the  coach  you  have  to  pay  the 
coachman  one  shilling  per  stage  of  about  thirty 
miles,  and  the  same  to  the  guard  whose  busi- 
ness it  is  to  take  care  of  the  luggage,  &c.  &c. 
Should  the  passenger  refuse  to  pay  the  accus- 
tomed tribute  he  would  inevitably  be  insulted. 
[       80       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

You  must  pay  also,  at  the  inns,  the  chamber- 
maid sixpence  a  night,  the  "  boots  "  (the  per- 
son who  cleans  them)  two-pence  a  day,  and  the 
head  waiter  one  shilling  a  day.  The  porter  who 
takes  your  portmanteau  up  stairs  moves  his 
hat  with  "  pray  remember  the  porter,  Sir." 
In  fact,  it  is  necessary  in  travelling  through 
England  to  have  your  pocket  well  lined  with 
pounds,  shillings  and  sixpences,  otherwise  you 
never  can  satisfy  the  innumerable  demands 
made  upon  a  traveller  by  landlord,  waiters, 
chambermaids,  and  coachmen,  &c.  &c.  My  bill 
at  Manchester  for  one  supper,  a  dinner,  a  break- 
fast, and  two  nights  lodging  was  five  dollars. 
The  beds  at  the  inns  are  surprisingly  neat  and 
clean.  In  many  of  the  inns  in  a  large  town, 
the  chambermaids  furnish  the  chambers  and 
depend  upon  their  fees  for  remuneration.  The 
stagecoaches  are  very  convenient  and  easy.  No 
baggage  is  permitted  to  be  taken  inside,  it  be- 
ing stowed  away  in  the  boot  places  before  and 
behind  the  carriage  for  that  purpose.  Here  it 
rides  perfectly  safe,  not  being  liable  to  be 
rubbed,  as  they  ride  upon  the  same  springs 
that  the  passengers  do.  A  person  can  always 
[        81        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

calculate  upon  being  at  the  place  he  takes  the 
coach  for  (barring  accidents)  at  a  certain  time, 
as  the  coachman  is  allowed  a  given  time  to  go 
his  stage.  The  guard  always  has  a  chronometer 
with  him  (locked  up  so  that  he  cannot  move 
the  hands)  as  a  guide  with  regard  to  time. 

In  company  with  Mr.  M.  I  went  to  the  Liver- 
pool Theatre.  It  is  a  neat  building  but  the  per- 
formers were  miserable.  Many  of  the  streets 
and  squares  in  Liverpool  are  spacious  and 
handsome.  St.  James'  Walk  is  a  fine  prome- 
nade. At  the  back  of  it  is  a  public  garden  laid 
out  in  a  tasteful  manner.  From  the  terrace  is 
a  commanding  view  of  the  town  and  Cheshire 
shore,  with  the  shipping  lying  in  the  river.  The 
stone  quarry  is  very  near  here.  The  entrance 
is  through  a  subterraneous  passage  60  yards  in 
length,  hewn  through  solid  stone.  All  the  stones 
necessary  for  the  formation  of  the  docks  are 
taken  from  this  place.  The  stone  resembles  the 
Connecticut  red  stone:  it  is  quite  liable  to 
crumble  into  sand,  but  I  am  informed  that  the 
water  hardens  it.  The  trade  to  Liverpool  is 
immense.  A  multitude  of  ships  are  now  in  the 
river  waiting  for  a  berth  in  the  dock,  which 
[        82        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

they  can  only  gain  by  some  other  vessel's  going 
to  sea.  The  large  warehouses  near  the  docks, 
rising  thirteen  stories  in  height,  and  the  bustle 
and  noise  in  the  streets  show  to  the  stranger 
that  here  "  commerce  is  busy  with  her  ten  thou- 
sand wheels." 

25th.  Dined  this  day  with  Mr.  B.,  a  large 
company  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  present. 
Among  them  was  a  venerable  clergyman  of  the 
dissenting  persuasion.  He  spoke  in  the  highest 
terms  of  the  American  clergy,  with  many  of 
whom  he  had  been  personally  acquainted,  but 
one  lately  had  offended  him  by  a  breach  of  po- 
liteness ;  of  him  he  observed  to  me  that  he  was 
more  conversant  with  religion  than  with  good 
manners.  Here  again  I  was  astonished  at  the 
amazing  ignorance  of  a  gentleman  respecting 
the  United  States.  He  possessed  such  a  know- 
ledge of  his  own  country  that  he  led  me  to 
suppose  that  he  was  joking  when  speaking  of 
ours.  He  first  remarked  that  we  could  not  live 
as  cheaply  in  America  as  in  England.  I  pointed 
out  the  mistake  to  him,  when  he  again  ob- 
served "  True,  you  may  live  as  cheaply  but  you 
are  obliged  to  eat  salted  meat  in  winter ! "  He 
[       83       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

was  very  much  astonished  when  I  informed  him 
that  even  in  that  frozen  and  inclement  season 
we  had  as  good  fresh  provisions  as  were  to  be 
had  in  England.  These  errors  respecting  the 
United  States  have  arisen  from  the  misrepre- 
sentations of  the  English  tourists  and  from  its 
being  the  interest  of  the  Government  to  keep 
up  these  impressions  to  prevent  emigration.  I 
was  asked  the  other  day  in  the  stage-coach  if 
the  Americans  all  spoke  English,  and  a  gen- 
teel young  lady  at  London  was  quite  shocked 
to  think  I  should  prefer  the  "  almost  impene- 
trable woods  of  America  "  to  England ! 

Mr.  B.  accompanied  me  to  the  Botanic  Gar- 
den which  is  at  the  extremity  of  the  town.  It 
is  supported  by  private  subscription  and  con- 
tains four  thousand  different  trees,  plants  and 
shrubs.  The  garden  is  kept  in  perfect  order. 
Each  subscriber  has  the  liberty  of  introducing 
strangers.  The  walks  of  it  are  much  resorted 
to  as  a  fashionable  promenade,  thus  combining 
pleasure  with  instruction ! 

27th  This  morning  went   to  the  Hercula- 
neum  Pottery,  a  short  distance  from  town.  Here 
both  common  and  fine  wares  are  manufactured. 
[       84       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

These  works  employ  about  two  hundred  per- 
sons, men,  women  and  children.  Having  an  in- 
troduction from  a  gentleman  at  Liverpool  to 
the  intendant  of  the  place,  I  received  every 
possible  attention  in  viewing  the  processes  of 
the  work.  Some  of  the  china  was  quite  elegant. 
There  were  a  great  many  very  genteel  looking 
men  and  women  at  work  drawing  the  land- 
scapes upon  the  china ;  many  women  were  also 
engaged  in  laborious  work,  much  more  suitable 
for  men,  such  as  beating  heavy  lumps  of  clay, 
&c.  &c.  It  is  however  quite  the  custom  in 
Great  Britain  to  make  the  fair  sex  bear  at 
least  one-half  the  burden  of  life,  but  I  have 
frequently  thought,  when  I  have  seen  them 
ploughing,  digging  and  reaping,  that  they  have 
had  the  greatest  part.  On  your  entrance  to  the 
works  you  are  presented  with  a  card  whereon 
is  a  request  that  you  will  not  give  the  workmen 
any  money,  but  if  you  are  disposed,  that  you 
may  contribute  an  offering  to  a  fund  appropri- 
ated to  the  instruction  of  the  children  of  the 
workmen  and  to  the  relief  of  the  sick.  This  is  a 
praiseworthy  regulation  and  should  be  adopted 
by  every  factory  to  which  curiosity  leads  visit- 
[        85        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

ants,  as  the  workmen  always  expect  some  little 
present  which  is  almost  invariably  applied  to 
furnish  drinks. 

In  the  afternoon  went  to  Warrington.  In 
the  coach  was  a  cotton  dealer  of  Manchester 
with  whom  I  had  a  spirited  conversation  respect- 
ing American  affairs.  The  information  he  had 
concerning  them  he  had  obtained  from  British 
tourists  and  from  letters  of  the  officers  of  the 
army  who  had  served  in  the  United  States.  He 
was  quite  prejudiced ;  "  the  affair  at  New  Or- 
leans was  a  mere  brush ;  Sir  Geo.  Prevost  was 
never  beaten  at  Plattsburgh ;  and  with  a  force 
of  fifty  thousand  men  they  (the  English)  could 
conquer  the  Northern  States."  This  last  in- 
formation he  had  received  from  a  publication 
entitled  The  Military  Chronicle,  wherein  was 
a  letter  written  by  an  officer  who  was  at  the 
capture  of  Castine  and  expressed  the  above 
opinion  and  also  stated  his  opinion  of  Amer- 
ica generally,  taking  Castine  as  the  place  to 
govern  his  ideas  of  it.  My  travelling  friend  I 
could  discover  had  taken  pains  to  inform  him- 
self respecting  America,  but  the  sources  from 
whence  he  had  drawn  his  knowledge  were  mis- 
[        86        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1816 

erably  corrupt,  and  consequently  had  misled 
him.  He  had  a  general  idea  of  the  geographical 
situation  of  our  country,  but  when  he  particu- 
larized he  made  me  smile  at  the  errors  he  com- 
mitted. Speaking  of  Boston  he  observed  that 
he  thought  that  with  ten  thousand  men  they 
could  take  it  with  ease.  I  pointed  out  the  im- 
possibility of  getting  into  our  harbor ;  he  re- 
plied that  he  knew  the  difficulty  of  passing  by 
the  Fort  of  Castle  WiUiam,  and  Noddles  Island, 
but  that  they  could  land  at  the  back  side  of 
Bunker  Hill  (an  odd  place  for  an  Englishman 
to  land  at),  as  their  ships  in  1775  had  laid  there 
with  ease.  He  supposed  from  this  that  there 
was  another  passage  to  the  sea.  After  we  had 
conversed  a  long  time  together,  he  observed 
that  he  had  just  such  another  tete-a-tete  with 
an  American  before  and  that  his  name  was 
Silliman.  Mr.  S.  mentions  this  gentleman  in 
his  work,  but  I  cannot  agree  with  him  with  re- 
gard to  the  gentleman's  correct  information. 
—  My  companion  and  I  parted  at  Warring- 
ton where  I  for  the  first  time  heard  ballad 
singers.  They  carry  ballads  for  sale,  at  the 
same  time  singing  them  to  allure  purchasers. 
C       87       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

One  of  the  women  bore  the  appearance  of  hav- 
ing seen  better  days.  She  possessed  a  fine  voice 
and  sang  but  little  inferior  to  many  who  sing 
at  the  London  theatres. 

28th  Went  this  morning  to  church.  The 
place  was  neat.  There  were  on  the  walls  tablets 
with  appropriate  texts  of  Scripture  inscribed 
on  them.  Part  of  the  service  was  chanted  in 
a  very  fine  manner  by  a  choir  of  women.  The 
sermon,  which  was  delivered  in  an  oratorical 
manner,  was  upon  the  necessity  of  a  renewal  of 
the  spirit  to  make  us  Christians.  The  congre- 
gation was  extremely  small,  caused  by  the  num- 
bers which  have  seceded  from  the  Church  and 
joined  the  Dissenters.  After  dinner  my  friend 
and  myself  set  out  for  a  farm  house  of  his 
in  a  neighboring  village,  but  being  overtaken 
by  a  shower  of  rain  we  were  compelled  to  seek 
shelter  in  a  miserable  hovel,  which  was  occu- 
pied by  a  man  who  said  he  had  been  in  the  serv- 
ice of  the  Duke  of  Bedford  for  fourteen  years. 
He  was  mixing  some  oatmeal  cakes  for  his  sup- 
per, the  materials  for  which  were  on  his  bed 
as  he  had  neither  stool  nor  table  in  the  apart- 
[        88        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

ment,  it  being  so  small  as  to  forbid  the  intro- 
duction of  either.  His  fuel  he  kept  under  his 
bed,  which  of  course  was  extremely  dirty.  On 
our  jocosely  asking  him  for  his  tap  he  told  us 
that  he  had  not  tasted  a  drop  of  ale  for  six 
weeks.  Amidst  all  this  misery  and  wretched- 
ness the  poor  fellow  seemed  to  be  cheerful  and 
happy  !  The  rain  ceasing  we  were  enabled  to 
reach  our  destination.  Here  was  a  contrast  to 
the  last  scene.  Each  apartment  of  the  house 
was  in  the  most  perfect  and  neat  order.  At- 
tached to  it  was  a  charming  garden,  filled  with 
a  variety  of  flowers  in  full  bloom.  Some  straw- 
berry vines  were  planted  in  a  different  manner 
from  any  I  ever  before  noticed.  Bricks  were 
placed  in  the  manner  of  steps  upon  the  side  of 
a  terrace,  between  the  interstices  of  which  the 
roots  were  placed,  and  the  tops  lay  upon  the 
bricks.  The  reflection  of  the  sun  upon  them 
serves  to  ripen  the  fruit,  while  they  serve  to 
prevent  the  berries  from  hanging  into  the  dirt. 
I  question  however  whether  this  manner  of 
planting  them  would  answer  in  America,  as 
the  bricks  heated  by  our  powerful  sun  would 
burn  and  destroy  the  vines.  This  way  of  culti- 
[        89        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

vating  them  adds  very  much  to  the  beauty  of  a 
garden. 

30  th  Being  a  fine  day  we  went  to  North  wick 
to  view  the  salt  mines.  The  road  lay  through  a 
charming  coimtry.  We  passed  Belmont,  an  ele- 
gant mansion  surrounded  by  an  extensive  park 
from  which  is  an  extensive  view:  the  inhabitants 
upon  this  route  are  mostly  employed  in  hus- 
bandry which  may  be  plainly  perceived  by  the 
neatness  of  their  cottages  and  their  comfortable 
appearance,  contrasted  with  those  in  the  man- 
ufacturing towns. 

Budworth  is  a  pretty  little  village  with  an 
ancient  stone  church.  A  little  beyond  here  we 
called  in  at  a  farmhouse,  the  occupier  of  which 
told  me  he  gave  six  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
rent  and  taxes,  for  his  farm  of  two  hundred 
acres :  he  shewed  me  fifty  fine  cows  valued  at 
25  Guineas  each.  They  were  fine  looking  ani- 
mals and  appeared  to  be  much  superior  to  any 
I  ever  saw  in  America.  He  makes  7  tons  of 
cheese  Pr.  Year.  While  he  was  here  a  wagon 
load  of  3  tons  weight  was  sent  off  to  market 
to  be  sold.  The  dairy  room  was  quite  large,  hav- 
ing vats  of  pewter  to  contain  the  milk  which 
[       90        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

keeps  better  in  this  manner  than  in  any  other. 
The  farmers  do  not  put  their  hay  into  barns  as 
our  farmers  do,  but  stack  it  out  in  the  fields, 
first  pressing  it  very  hard.  When  they  use  it 
they  are  obliged  to  slice  it  off  with  a  sharp  in- 
strument. A  hay-mow  half  used  looks  similar 
to  a  loaf  with  slices  cut  from  it.  Here  also  was 
a  garden  laid  out  in  the  neatest  manner  imag- 
inable. The  gooseberry  bushes  hung  down  with 
the  weight  of  their  fruit,  but  the  currants  did 
not  seem  to  flourish,  nor  did  I  ever  see  any 
bushes  of  that  kind  which  seemed  to  bear  well 
anywhere  in  England.  After  partaking  of  a 
glass  of  home-brewed  ale,  we  proceeded  to  the 
salt  pit,  where  four  persons,  including  myself, 
were  lowered  in  a  tub  down  a  shaft  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  in  depth.  I  must 
confess  that  before  I  got  one  half  of  the  way 
down  I  heartily  repented  of  my  journey,  but 
upon  my  arrival  at  the  bottom  I  was  amply 
repaid  for  all  my  fears.  The  first  thing  that 
saluted  my  sight  was  a  stable  of  five  horses  em- 
ployed in  removing  the  salt  to  the  mouth  of  the 
shaft.  The  mine  is  excavated  in  length  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile,  and  width  one-half.  It  is 
[       91        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

about  fifteen  feet  in  height.  The  sides  and  top 
are  regularly  and  squarely  hewn.  There  are 
regular  streets  cut  at  right  angles.  The  roof  is 
supported  by  pillars  twelve  yards  square.  One 
of  the  workmen  blasted  the  rock  which  is  so 
hard  as  to  resist  everything  but  gunpowder. 
The  noise  of  the  explosion  reverberating  through 
the  chasms  was  awfully  loud  and  rolled  along 
the  mine  like  thunder.  The  whole  place  made 
a  most  brilliant  appearance  when  illuminated 
by  our  candles !  About  a  year  since,  Mr.  Can- 
ning visited  this  mine  when  it  was  lighted  up 
with  1600  candles.  I  was  not  less  alarmed  in 
going  up  than  in  descending.  The  amazing 
depth  of  the  shaft  rendered  apparently  the  light 
at  the  top  like  to  a  small  star,  but  we  arrived 
safely  in  the  upper  world  after  an  absence  of 
two  hours.  Here  we  saw  the  different  processes 
of  refining  the  rock.  It  is  first  soaked  in  a  pit, 
the  water  of  which  becoming  brine  it  is  con- 
veyed into  a  pan  under  which  is  a  slow  fire, 
where  it  remains  until  the  water  evaporates  and 
the  salt  remains  at  the  bottom.  Then  it  is  taken 
and  put  into  baskets  in  the  shape  of  a  sugar 
loaf  and  carried  into  the  drying  room,  when  it 
[        92        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

soon  becomes  perfect  and  is  fit  for  sale.  The 
price  of  it  for  exportation  is  4'*  a  bushel,  but 
the  people  of  England  pay  for  home  consump- 
tion (such  is  the  enormous  duty)  16  shillings 
for  the  same  quantity.  Excise  men  are  always 
upon  duty  at  the  works  to  prevent  any  persons 
taking  even  the  smallest  quantity  without  the 
duty  having  been  paid.  So  vigilant  are  they, 
and  so  heavy  is  the  penalty  for  transgressing 
the  law  that  should  a  piece  of  the  rock  be 
dropped  by  chance  on  the  highway  no  one 
dares  pick  it  up  with  an  intent  of  using  it ! 

I  returned  the  same  night  to  Warrington  and 
the  next  day  went  to  the  city  of  Chester.  At  a 
short  distance  from  the  city  we  observed  a  gib- 
bet whereon  hung  the  bodies  of  two  men  who 
were  long  ago  executed  for  the  robbery  and 
murder  of  the  post-boy.  The  appearance  of  the 
city  as  you  enter  it  is  very  pretty,  the  trees 
among  the  houses  giving  it  a  lively  eif  ect.  The 
place  is  very  ancient.  That  part  of  it  designated 
"  the  old  part "  is  surrounded  by  walls.  The 
width  of  the  walk  on  top  of  these  is  sufficient 
for  three  persons  to  go  abreast.  At  small  dis- 
tances apart  are  remains  of  towers  formerly 
[       93       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

used  as  watch-towers,  and  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  wall  on  one  of  the  comers  (the  West) 
of  the  city  is  a  large  tower  in  a  state  of  dilapi- 
dation which  was  connected  to  the  great  wall 
by  a  smaller  one.  The  entrance  to  the  town  is 
through  four  spacious  gates,  situated  north, 
south,  east  and  west,  the  names  they  bear.  The 
modern  part  of  the  city  is  extended  consider- 
ably beyond  the  wall.  Directly  under  one  part 
of  the  wall  lies  the  race  ground  which  is  the 
most  complete  of  any  in  England,  with  regard 
to  its  natural  situation.  The  ground  on  which 
the  horses  run  is  a  perfect  plane,  while  the 
hills  and  wall  which  surround  it  form  it  into  a 
circus.  There  are  several  ancient  churches  here, 
and  in  some  of  them  time  has  made  sad  havoc, 
as  they  are  rapidly  falling  into  decay.  The  foot 
passengers  are  in  this  city  sheltered  from  the 
weather  by  the  shops  and  houses  projecting 
over  in  the  form  of  a  piazza  having  a  walk 
under  it.  Chester  Castle  is  a  most  noble  build- 
ing which  stands  upon  an  eminence  and  over- 
looks the  city.  The  entrance  to  the  yard  is 
through  a  noble  gateway.  On  the  right  stands 
the  Armory  and  on  the  left  the  barracks  for 
[       94       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

the  soldiers  stationed  here.  The  principal  build- 
ing is  appropriated  as  a  house  for  the  governor 
of  the  castle  and  as  a  court  house  and  prison. 
The  prison  is  conducted  something  similar  to 
the  State  prison  at  Charlestown.  The  prison- 
ers are  confined  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
keeper  can  overlook  them  (while  at  work)  from 
his  apartment.  The  appearance  of  the  governor's 
house  with  several  young  ladies  dressed  in  high 
fashion  was  but  illy  calculated  to  inspire  one 
with  the  gloomy  thought  of  its  being  a  place 
of  pain  and  imprisonment.  The  whole  edifice  is 
formed  of  a  light-colored  stone  and  planned  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  conceal  the  purpose  for 
which  it  was  erected.  The  place  where  the 
courts  are  held  is  a  pretty  room,  the  ceiling  be- 
ing pannelled.  In  the  bar  is  a  trap  door,  be- 
neath which  is  a  sub-terranean  communication 
with  the  cells  of  the  prisoners,  who  are  through 
it  brought  into  court.  In  the  bar  is  also  an  iron 
affixed  for  the  purpose  of  confining  the  hands  of 
those  who  are  sentenced  to  be  burnt  in  the  hand, 
which  punishment  is  put  into  execution  in  pre- 
sence of  the  court.  A  short  time  ago  a  fellow 
thus  sentenced  bore  the  iron  without  flinching 
[        95        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

and  then  tore  out  with  his  teeth  the  disgraceful 
mark  and  spit  it  on  the  floor. 

Returned  in  the  evening  to  Warrington  and 
the  next  day  set  out  for  Manchester.  On  June 
2nd  in  company  with  Mr.  Bangs  walked  thirty- 
two  miles  t-o  view  the  peak  of  Derbyshire.  Our 
road  was  through  Stockport,  a  large  manufac- 
turing town,  with  nothing  worthy  of  notice  ex- 
cepting the  narrowness  of  the  street,  and  the 
steepness  and  length  of  its  hills.  The  country 
generally  was  well  cultivated.  At  a  neat  inn  at 
Hazel  Grove  or  Bullock  Smithy,  we  dined  with 
an  excellent  appetite  and  afterwards  continued 
on  through  the  village  of  Dishley  until  we  ar- 
rived at  Whally-Bride, —  a  most  romantic  sit- 
uation. Directly  under  the  window  of  the  inn 
ran  a  small  river  over  which  was  a  bridge. 
Beyond  this,  upon  the  side  of  an  eminence, 
stood  a  cluster  of  cottages  whose  white  walls 
formed  a  charming  contrast  with  the  green  vines 
which  overspread  them.  At  5.  in  the  evening 
we  reached  Chapel  in  the  Forth,  a  tolerably 
neat  village,  and  afterward  ascended  a  very 
high  mountain,  from  the  top  of  which  was  a 
very  extensive  view.  We  took  the  wrong  road 
[        96        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

and  were  progressing  toward  Chesterfield  when 
we  stopped  at  an  alehouse,  the  master  of  which 
informed  us  of  our  mistake  and  directed  us 
into  a  foot  path  whereby  we  might  regain  the 
right  road ;  but  we  soon  again  missed  the  path 
and  we  were  induced  to  think,  as  it  grew  dusky 
that  we  must  be  upon  the  "  barren  mountain  / 
starved,"  as  there  was  no  probability  of  our 
meeting  any  person  to  direct  us.  We  continued 
on  for  some  time  in  this  uncertainty,  until  at  last 
we  espied  at  some  distance  a  cottage,  and  after 
making  up  to  it  were  directed  on  our  way  ;  fol- 
lowing our  directions  we  came  to  the  ruins  of  an 
old  castle,  which  we  found  situated  upon  an  emi- 
nence directly  over  the  village  of  Castleton.  The 
immense  height  of  the  precipice  made  us  shrink 
back  with  terror  when  we  approached  the  brink 
and  looked  over  it.  After  supper  we  retired  to 
bed  much  fatigued  from  our  long  walk,  and  in 
the  morning  after  having  engaged  a  guide,  we 
visited  the  Cavern,  or  Peak's  Hole.  There  is  a 
small  rivulet  which  takes  its  rise  in  or  beyond 
the  Cavern,  over  which  we  crossed  by  a  little 
stone  bridge  to  gain  the  entrance  of  the  cave. 
This  entrance  is  in  the  side  of  the  mountain 
[        97        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

over  whose  brink  we  had  looked  the  night  be- 
fore. In  the  mouth  of  the  cavern  are  two  small 
cottages  inhabited  by  persons  whose  occupa- 
tion is  spinning  of  twine.  One  of  them,  an  old 
woman,  told  us  that  she  was  born  in  this  place 
and  had  always  lived  here.  At  a  door  beyond, 
candles  are  given  you  to  light  you  into  the  in- 
terior, into  which  we  proceeded  until  the  roof 
became  so  very  low  that  it  almost  seemed  to 
touch  a  piece  of  water  which  reached  athwart 
the  cavern.  We  then  entered  a  little  boat  and 
lay  upon  our  backs  while  our  guide  waded  into 
the  water  and  shoved  us  along  until  we  arrived 
at  a  cavern  of  great  dimensions.  Following  our 
conductor  we  soon  came  to  another  cavern  called 
Roger  Rain's  house,  from  its  continual  dropping 
water  from  the  roof.  Here  we  were  surprised 
at  the  beautiful  appearance  of  candles  which 
some  boys  held  in  a  gallery  at  a  vast  height 
above  us.  They  appeared  at  an  immense  dis- 
tance and  resembled  brilliant  stars.  We  next 
descended  into  the  Devil's  Cellar  the  walls  of 
which  are  inscribed  with  the  initials  of  the  vis- 
itors' names.  The  guide  invited  us  to  follow  this 
example,  but  having  no  disposition  to  be  in  the 
[        98        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

Devil's  books  we  did  not  accept  the  proposition. 
We  proceeded  until  we  came  to  the  extremity 
of  this  wonderful  cavern,  which  is  2250  feet 
from  the  enti-ance.  The  guide  waded  through 
the  water  under  a  low  arch  twenty  five  feet 
farther  than  the  visitors  generally  go.  We  were 
here  saluted  with  a  blast  of  gunpowder,  the 
noise  of  which  was  tremendously  loud  and  gave 
us  a  shock  which  electrified  us.  The  water 
flows  through  a  part  of  these  caves  in  a  beauti- 
ful streamlet,  the  bottom  of  it  composed  of 
white  pebbles.  It  loses  itself  under  ground,  in 
one  of  them,  and  makes  its  appearance  again  at 
the  mouth  of  the  cavern.  When  we  returned 
the  daylight  at  the  entrance  of  the  cave  was  in- 
describably beautiful.  After  we  had  partaken 
of  some  refreshments  we  went  to  view  the 
Speedwell  mine.  This  mine  was  worked  for 
lead,  but  after  the  proprietors  had  expended 
fourteen  thousand  pounds  sterling  it  was  found 
not  to  answer  the  purpose.  The  guide  to  it 
lives  in  a  little  cot  at  its  entrance.  Here  we 
descended  one  hundred  and  six  steps :  at  the 
bottom  of  them  was  a  boat,  into  which  we  en- 
tered and  were  ferried  through  a  passage  cut 
[       99       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

out  of  solid  rock  just  large  enough  to  permit  a 
person  to  sit  upriglit  in  the  vessel.  This  passage 
is  2300  feet  in  length,  and  terminates  in  a 
cavern  called  the  Devil's  Hall.  Here  we  were 
700  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  earth.  The 
roof  of  the  cavern  has  never  been  seen.  Rock- 
ets have  been  sent  up  for  that  purpose,  but 
without  effect.  Here  is  a  grate  which  divides 
the  cavern  from  the  abyss  down  which  the 
water  tumbles,  making  a  tremendous  noise. 
Our  guide  assured  us  that  he  had  been  lowered 
into  this  gulf  for  the  distance  of  three  hundred 
feet,  until  he  arrived  at  the  surface  of  the 
water  which  he  tried  with  a  line  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy  feet  in  length,  but  could  not  find 
bottom.  When  the  mine  was  worked,  the  rub- 
bish that  came  out  was  for  the  period  of  five 
years  thrown  into  this  chasm,  but  to  all  appear- 
ance this  has  not  in  the  least  diminished  its 
depth. 

Castleton  is  romantically  situated  in  a  fer- 
tile valley,  well  watered  by  the  stream  proceed- 
ing out  of  the  cavern.  The  inhabitants  are  re- 
markably healthy.  Their  occupation  consists  of 
mining  and  husbandry.  The  church  is  a  neat 
[        100       ] 


ENGLA.ND  IN  1815 

building  and  contains  the  following  remarkable 
epitaph  which  is  inscribed  in  Latin  to  conceal 
as  much  as  possible  the  scepticism  of  the  person 
who  ordered  it  to  be  put  upon  his  tombstone. 
The  man's  name  was  Micah  Hall,  who  lived  79 
years.  It  is  as  follows : 

"  What  1  was  you  know  not ! 
What  I  am  you  know  not  ; 
Whither  I  am  gone  you  know  not ; 
Go  about  your  business  !  " 

We  were  not  a  little  surprised  at  our  landlord's 
informing  us  that  the  way  we  came  into  Castle- 
ton  was  extremely  dangerous,  abounding  in  pits 
and  precipices,  where  one  false  footstep  would 
have  hurled  us  to  destruction ! 

Having  seen  all  the  curiosities  at  Castleton, 
at  five  in  the  evening  we  took  a  post  chaise  for 
Buxton.  The  road  is  through  a  valley  which 
divides  the  mountains  surrounding  the  village. 
We  passed  the  ebbing  and  flowing  well.  This 
is  at  the  bottom  of  a  steep  hill.  The  water  at 
irregular  periods,  according  to  the  wetness,  or 
dryness  of  the  season,  rises  and  falls  in  the 
manner  of  the  tide.  It  was  bubbling  and  dis- 
charging its  waters  when  we  passed  it.  Buxton 
[         101         ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

is  very  charmingly  situated,  entirely  surrounded 
with  hills.  The  Crescent  is  a  fine  row  of  build- 
ings built  by  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  for  the 
accommodation  of  those  persons  who  resort 
hither  for  the  benefit  of  the  waters.  These 
waters  are  of  great  benefit  in  gouty  and  rheu- 
matic complaints.  There  was  a  great  deal  of 
genteel  company  here.  At  a  short  distance  from 
the  Crescent  is  a  fine  walk  through  which  flows 
a  streamlet  of  water  forming  several  cascades 
as  it  runs.  The  walks  are  planted  with  trees 
and  at  certain  distances  are  seats  for  the  pro- 
menaders.  I  think  Buxton  superior  in  beauty 
to  any  place  I  have  seen  in  England,  yet  Bath 
is  said  to  be  much  superior.  In  the  afternoon 
of  the  next  day,  left  in  the  coach  for  Manches- 
ter, where  I  arrived  the  same  evening  and  found 
it  the  same  dull,  smoky,  rainy  hole  as  ever !  I 
left  Manchester  without  any  regret  at  the  pos- 
sibility of  my  never  seeing  it  again,  and  arrived 
at  Liverpool.  In  the  coffee-room  of  the  Inn  a 
traveller  was  giving  a  lively  description  of  a 
pugilist's  battle  between  two  scientific  fighters. 
The  bare  recital  of  it  I  should  suppose  would 
make  a  person  of  humanity  shudder.  One  of 
[       102       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

the  combatants  was  carried  off  the  field  with 
his  jaws  broken,  vomiting  blood.  This  is  called 
amusement  for  a  refined  people !  An  English- 
man will  say  it  serves  to  stimulate  the  courage 
of  the  common  people !  I  am  sure  it  brutalizes 
them  and  augments  their  ferocity,  for  no  sooner 
does  a  little  dispute  chance  to  arise  than  an 
appeal  to  blows  is  resorted  to,  to  settle  it.  So 
much  are  they  in  love  with  boxing  that  if  two 
boys  get  to  quarrelling,  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren will  endeavour  to  add  fuel  to  their  resent- 
ment, just  for  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a  little 
fun! 

Being  detained  at  Liverpool  a  few  days  by 
business,  I  passed  my  leisure  hours  in  the  Athe- 
naeum ;  this  afforded  much  amusement  and  dis- 
sipated that  time  which  otherwise  would  have 
hung  heavy  on  my  hands. 

Sunday,  11th  June.  Attended  this  day  (for 
the  first  time  in  England)  a  dissenting  or  Pres- 
byterian church.  Doctor  Lewin,  the  gentleman 
with  whom  I  dined  a  short  time  since,  was  the 
preacher.  He  is  78  years  of  age,  and  was  quite 
animated  in  his  delivery.  Generally  speaking 
[       103       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

there  is  not  that  ignorance  of  the  American 
nation  among  the  people  of  Liverpool  that  there 
is  in  other  places  in  England.  It  obviously 
arises  from  the  great  intercourse  that  is  carried 
on  between  this  port  and  the  United  States.  I 
have  scarcely  passed  a  day  without  meeting 
some  one  whom  I  have  seen  in  America.  There 
is  a  degree  of  liberality  shown  here  to  our  coun- 
trymen which  is  not  shown  in  other  places. 
This  evening  "  God  save  the  King  "  was  called 
for  at  the  theatre,  when  an  American  sailor 
loudly  exclaimed  from  the  gallery  "God  d — n 
the  king  and  all  the  rest  of  'em !  "  Yet  the  only 
notice  taken  of  this  was  by  a  general  laugh  at 
Jack's  republicanism.  Had  he  been  in  London 
the  mob  would  have  torn  him  to  atoms. 

June  15th.  In  company  with  three  of  my 
fellow-countrymen,  Thomas  Dennie,  Isaac 
Barnes  and  Abbot  Lawrence,  I  departed  for 
London.  There  is  something  inexpressibly 
pleasant  in  meeting  and  associating  in  a  foreign 
country  with  those  with  whom  you  have  been 
acquainted  at  home.  Our  journey  was  very 
pleasant.  On  our  road  through  Staffordshire  we 
passed  the  potteries  of  Burslem  and  Hanley, 
[        104        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

as  also  several  collieries  where  at  the  mouth  of 
the  pits  steam  engines  were  erected  to  draw  up 
the  coals.  Near  Burslem,  from  the  top  of  a  very 
high  hill,  there  is  a  commanding  view  of  the 
country.  Hanley  is  quite  a  pretty  place  and  con- 
tains some  fine  houses.  At  Tutbury  passed  near 
the  ruins  of  the  castle  of  that  name.  It  stands 
upon  an  eminence  and  entirely  commands  the 
town,  which  lies  directly  under  its  walls.  This 
castle  was  once  the  prison  of  Mary,  Queen  of 
Scots.  The  walls  are  now  almost  entirely  de- 
molished. At  Uttoxeter  we  changed  horses.  The 
Inn  was  directly  opposite  an  ancient  church 
whose  graveyard  was  filled  by  a  rabble  of  boys, 
pedlars'  stalls,  etc.  and  seemed  to  be  a  common 
thoroughfare.  It  is  shocking  to  behold  the  ashes 
of  the  dead  outraged  in  this  manner,  but  in 
this  country  I  have  remarked  too  often  that  the 
dead  are  trodden  upon  whenever  it  suits  the 
convenience  of  the  living.  We  dined  at  Burton, 
a  charmingly  neat  and  clean  town  particularly 
famed  for  its  good  ale.  Crossing  the  river,  over 
which  is  a  stone  bridge,  the  next  place  we 
stopped  at  was  Leicester,  a  place  noted  for  its 
manufactory  of  stockings.  This  is  also  a  very 
[        105        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

neat  town.  We  passed  a  great  many  country 
seats,  and  at  Northampton  changed  horses.  The 
inn  where  we  stopped  was  in  a  large  square 
which  adds  much  beauty  to  the  place.  At  a 
short  distance  from  the  town  stands  a  stone 
cross,  erected  by  Edward  the  First  in  memory 
of  his  beloved  wife  Eleanor,  whose  body  rested 
here  on  its  way  to  London.  Lace-making  seems 
to  be  the  principal  employment  of  the  people 
hereabout.  "  Pillow  and  bobbin  appears  to  be 
all  their  little  store "  in  most  of  the  cottages 
we  saw.  The  day  being  fine  enabled  us  to  have 
a  good  view  of  London  as  we  entered  it.  We 
arrived  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  being  just 
thirty-six  hours  in  travelling  two  hundred  and 
ten  miles.  I  found  on  my  arrival  a  notice  that 
all  aliens  should  report  themselves  to  the  Man- 
sion House.  Accordingly  the  next  day  I  went 
thither  and  found  the  Lord  Mayor  examining 
a  wretched  looking  woman  with  a  child  in  her 
arms  upon  a  charge  of  theft.  The  examination 
was  conducted  with  much  mildness  on  the  part 
of  the  Mayor.  He  is  a  pastry  cook  by  profes- 
sion, and  is  stiU  concerned  with  his  nephew, 
who  carries  on  the  business  not  far  from  the 
[        106       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

Mansion  House.  I  received  (after  I  had  regis- 
tered my  name)  directions  to  call  in  six  days 
for  a  license  to  reside  here. 

On  going  through  the  Royal  Exchange  I 
was  peculiarly  struck  with  the  variety  of  dress 
in  the  crowd  of  merchants  assembled  there. 
Here  were  Christian,  Turk  and  Jew.  In  walk- 
ing the  city  a  person  meets  such  a  variety  of 
fashion  in  dress  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  the 
prevailing  one.  A  man  must  possess  consider- 
able talent  to  make  himself  notorious  for  dress 
or  equipage  in  this  great  city.  Even  Romeo 
Coates,  the  amateur  actor,  when  he  first  made 
his  appearance  in  a  dashing  curricle  ornamented 
with  a  cock  as  his  crest,  had  to  employ  some 
boys  to  cry  "  Cock-a-doodle-doo  "  to  bring  it  into 
notice. 

Being  near  Eastcheap  today  I  tried  to  dis- 
cover the  Boar's  Head,  but  was  unsuccessful. 
This  is  where  Sir  John  Falstaff  and  Prince 
Henry  had  their  "  cup  of  sack." 

At  a  window  in  a  print  shop  my  eye  was 
attracted  by  a  print  in  glaring  colors  purport- 
ing to  be  the  Capture  of  Washington.  It  rep- 
resented a  strongly  fortified  place,  compared  to 
[        107        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

which  Quebec  and  Gibraltar  were  nothing. 
The  British  troops  were  marching  over  a  breast- 
work of  dead  Americans  in  the  face  of  a  bat- 
tery of  cannon  blazing  at  them.  In  the  back- 
ground was  the  "  President's  Palace  "  (as  the 
explanation  informed  me)  and  eight  or  ten 
seventy-fours  in  flames.  This  is  the  mere  idea 
of  the  print  seller,  but  the  British  Government 
tried  all  in  their  power  to  make  this  circum- 
stance popular.  They  were  unsuccessful.  Many 
Englishmen  have  acknowledged  to  me  that  it 
was  a  stain  on  their  national  character  which 
cannot  be  obliterated. 

17th  In  the  evening  went  to  the  Opera. 
This  is  a  most  splendid  house,  having  five  rows 
of  boxes  above  which  is  a  gallery  to  admit  per- 
sons who  are  not  in  full  dress,  as  they  are  ex- 
cluded from  all  other  parts  of  the  house.  The 
boxes  are  all  private  and  are  rented  at  from 
three  hundred  to  one  thousand  pounds  a  season. 
This  immense  building  crowded  with  company 
in  full  dress  is  a  charming  sight.  The  scenery 
is  elegant,  but  as  the  performances  were  in 
Italian  I  could  not  make  out  what  the  subject 
was  that  was  represented.  The  band  is  very 
[        108        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

large  and  the  music  excellent.  There  was  some 
fine  dancing,  particularly  Nestri's,  but  the 
manner  of  the  female  dancing  was  very  indeli- 
cate, to  my  ideas !  In  not  understanding  Ital- 
ian I  was  in  the  same  situation  as  the  greater 
part  of  the  audience,  who  attend  here  in  pre- 
ference to  the  English  Theatre  merely  because 
it  is  fashionable !  I  was  quite  amused  with  the 
Bond  Street  loungers  who  came  into  the  gal- 
lery where  I  was,  to  look  at  the  ladies.  One  of 
them,  dressed  in  the  extreme  of  fashion,  with 
a  chapeau  under  his  arm,  took  his  station  op- 
posite to  two  pretty  girls  who  sat  upon  a  seat 
in  front  of  me,  and  taking  out  his  quizzing 
glass  he  most  impudently  stared  them  in  the 
face  as  long  as  he  could  keep  one  eye  open  and 
the  other  shut.  I  have  seen  these  fellows  rep- 
resented upon  our  stage  and  thought  it  a  cari- 
cature, but  I  now  think  the  original  a  great 
deal  the  worst. 

Having  a  desire  to  see  Royalty  I  attended 
the  Chapel  Royal,  St.  James'  Palace,  to  see 
the  Princess  Charlotte,  ^  probably  the  future 

^  Princess  Charlotte  was  the  only  daughter  of  the  Prince 
Regent,  afterward  Greorge  IV,  and  Qneen  Caroline ;  horn 
1796 ;  died  1817. 

[         109        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1813 

Queen  of  England.  This  chapel  is  in  the  court- 
yard of  the  palace.  The  entrance  is  through  a 
small  door  into  a  dark  and  narrow  passage 
which  carries  you  into  the  chapel.  This  is 
quite  a  confined  room  and  not  at  all  elegant. 
The  ceiling  is  panelled  and  ornamented  with 
the  coats  of  arms  of  the  nobility.  The  Princess 
came  in  attended  by  several  lords  and  ladies, 
and  took  her  seat  in  the  gallery  opposite  to 
where  I  stood.  She  has  a  pretty  face  and  eyes, 
with  the  buxomness  of  a  country  lass.  Her 
dress  was  a  purple  pelisse  edged  with  white, 
with  a  French  fashioned  bonnet  and  a  wreath 
around  it.  She  had  not  the  least  gentility  of 
appearance  and  her  manners  were  shockingly 
vulgar,  particularly  when  she  stood  up.  She 
had  then  a  kind  of  rolling  about,  and  kept  her 
arms  akimbo.  She  took  very  little  notice  of  the 
service  and  seemed,  from  her  uneasiness,  to 
wish  that  it  were  ended.  The  singing  and  chant- 
ing of  the  service  was  very  fine,  as  the  first 
performers  are  here  engaged.  The  preacher  was 
a  courtly  looking  man,  who  mounted  the  "  ros- 
trum with  a  skip,"  preached  elegantly  for  half 
an  hour  about  —  nothing  at  all,  made  his  bow 
[       110       ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

and  backed  down  the  pulpit  stairs  (for  he  was 
too  polite  to  turn  his  back  upon  royalty),  and 
made  his  exit.  I  was  much  better  pleased  in 
the  evening  at  the  service  of  the  Foundling 
Hospital,  where  the  same  preacher  officiated 
whom  I  had  heard  some  weeks  ago.  The  an- 
them was  sung  by  Mr.  Pyne  of  Covent  Garden 
Theatre.  The  subject  of  the  discourse  was 
"None  of  us  liveth  to  himself." 

Some  Bostonians  of  my  acquaintance  whom 
I  visit,  lodge  in  the  coffee  house  so  much  fre- 
quented by  Addison,  Steele  and  Johnson,  and 
from  whence  so  many  of  their  admirable  essays 
are  dated.  It  then  went  by  the  name  of  "  Will's 
Coffee-house,"  but  is  now  called  "  Richard's." 

20th  Last  night  went  to  Covent  Garden 
Theatre  to  see  Miss  O'Neil  as  Euphrasia  in 
The  Grecian  Daughter.  Her  representation  of 
this  character  was  exquisitely  fine.  Mr.  Young 
personified  Evander.  I  never  saw  a  tragedy 
which  took  such  hold  on  my  feelings  as  this 
did.  Even  the  inferior  parts  were  sustained  by 
performers  whose  talents  were  above  mediocrity. 
The  concluding  scene  where  she  stabs  Diony- 
sius  drew  forth  repeated  plaudits  from  a  house 
[       111       J 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

filled  in  every  corner  :  were  it  not  for  the  at- 
tractions of  the  performances,  the  interesting 
sight  of  hundreds  of  well-dressed  people  in  the 
pit  and  boxes  would  amply  repay  one  for  his 
attendance.  The  after  piece  was  "  The  Forty 
Thieves,"  and  I  feel  proud  for  the  theatrical 
fame  of  America  to  be  able  to  say  that  the  re- 
presentation, both  as  to  acting  and  scenery, 
was  quite  inferior  to  that  which  we  had  on  the 
Boston  boards,  when  Mrs.  Darley  and  Mr. 
Bernard  took  a  part  in  the  performance. 

Near  Carlton  House  the  residence  of  the 
Prince  Regent,  Mr.  West's  two  pictures  of 
Christ  Rejected  and  Christ  healing  the  Sick 
are  exhibited.  The  last  is  painted  expressly 
for  the  hospital  at  Philadelphia,  and,  it  is  said, 
surpasses  the  original  one  which  was  painted 
for  that  institution  and  by  the  sale  of  which 
Mr.  West  incurred  an  imputation  of  ungen- 
erous conduct.  This  he  seems  to  be  aware  of, 
and  has  exerted  himself  to  produce  this  mas- 
terpiece of  painting,  for  the  loan  of  which 
for  two  years  he  has  refused  three  thousand 
guineas.  The  meek  and  beautiful  countenance 
of  our  Saviour,  and  the  anxiety  of  the  friends 
[        112        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

of  the  lame,  halt  and  blind,  together  with  a 
sick  man  borne  along  by  two  figures,  to  be 
healed,  are  admirably  painted.  The  correctness 
with  which  the  effects  of  the  different  diseases 
upon  the  human  frame  are  delineated  is  the 
admiration  of  medical  men,  and  shows  with 
what  attention  and  care  the  painting  of  this 
piece  has  been  prosecuted.  The  picture  of 
"  Christ  Rejected  "  I  think  far  preferable  to  the 
one  described.  The  meekness  of  Him  who  was 
borne  "  like  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter " ;  the 
diabolical  passions  expressed  by  his  persecut- 
ors ;  (the  High  Priest  in  particular)  ;  the  grief 
of  Peter  who  is  "  weeping  bitterly,"  and  the 
agony  of  the  pious  women  from  Galilee  at  be- 
holding Him  "  whom  they  loved  "  bound  as  a 
malefactor ;  raises  doubts  in  the  mind  of  the 
spectator  whether  the  scene  is  not  real;  and 
almost  carries  one  to  the  hall  of  condemnation. 
Carlton  House  is  a  gloomy  pile  of  buildings 
faced  by  a  colonnade ;  but  the  interior,  it  is 
said,  surpasses  most  palaces  in  magnificence ; 
behind  it  is  Warwick  House,  an  ill-shapen  build- 
ing, the  residence  of  the  Princess  Charlotte.  All 
communication  with  her  is  through  her  father's 
[        113        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

palace,  as  all  other  entrances  are  closed  up. 
This  is  caused  by  her  running  away  from  her 
keepers  some  time  ago  and  jumping  into  a 
hackney  coach,  which  carried  her  to  her  mo- 
ther !  Mr.  Tierney  made  a  motion  in  Parlia- 
ment a  few  days  ago  that  the  amount  of  the 
Prince  Regent's  debts  should  be  laid  before 
the  House.  The  result  was  that  the  debts 
amounted  to  six  millions,  five  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  thousand,  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-six  dollars,  and  sixty-seven  cents,  of 
which  one  million,  four  hundred  and  sixty-six 
thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  dollars  and 
sixty-seven  cents  remained  unpaid  the  1st  of 
May,  1815.  Here  is  one  of  the  blessings  at- 
tached to  a  regal  government. 

Going  into  a  wholesale  hosier's  warehouse 
with  a  friend  who  was  making  purchases,  we 
received  an  invitation  to  look  at  the  hosier's 
race-horses  :  in  the  stable  behind  the  warehouse 
were  two  which  he  kept  for  his  amusement. 
One  of  them  he  offered  to  back  against  any 
horse  in  England  for  £500.  He  showed  us  a 
cup  which  this  animal  had  won  at  Newmarket 
races.  His  parlor  was  ornamented  with  the 
C       114       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

portraits  of  these  favorite  animals.  This  I 
thought  pretty  well  for  a  hosier ! 

Passing  through  St.  James'  Park  after  din- 
ner I  overheard  two  fashionable  young  men 
bidding  each  other  "  good  morning ! "  The 
lateness  of  the  hour  impelled  me  to  see  what 
time  it  was ;  I  found  it  just  eight  in  the  even- 
ing !  These  are  imitators  of  the  Prince,  who 
never  dines  until  nine  at  night. 

22nd.  London  is  one  continual  scene  of  up- 
roar and  joy  in  consequence  of  the  total  defeat 
of  Bonaparte  at  Waterloo  by  Lord  Wellington. 
This  is  announced  by  the  Park  and  Tower 
guns  and  by  placards  upon  the  gates  of  the 
Mansion  House.  It  is  also  publicly  declared 
that  upon  Friday  and  Saturday  nights  the 
public  buildings  are  to  be  illuminated  on  the 
occasion. 

Mr.  D.  of  Boston  having  died  suddenly,  I 
was  notified  to  attend  his  funeral,  and  accord- 
ingly went  at  7  o'clock  in  the  morning,  being 
the  time  appointed.  Those  who  were  present 
were  furnished  by  the  undertaker  with  a  pair  of 
gloves,  a  mourning  cloak  and  scarf.  The  hearse 
was  followed  by  mourning  coaches,  preceded 
[        115        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

by  two  mutes  bearing  black  banners.  At  the 
graveyard  the  corpse  was  met  by  the  priest 
who  performed  the  service  in  the  episcopalian 
form.  At  the  entrance  of  the  yard  on  our  return 
we  were  divested  of  our  cloaks,  weepers  and 
gloves,  the  two  latter  of  which  we  retained  in 
remembrance  of  the  deceased.  Funerals  here 
at  this  early  hour  are  quite  customary.  Seldom 
is  there  any  after  one  in  the  forenoon ! 

On  Friday  and  Saturday  night  all  the  public 
buildings  and  many  private  ones  were  illumi- 
nated. Many  fanciful  and  beautiful  devices 
were  exhibited.  Among  those  which  were  promi- 
nently beautiful  were  the  excise  office,  the  Bank, 
Post-office,  Somerset  House,  Admiralty,  Horse 
Guards,  Carlton  House,  Foreign  and  Home 
Department  (here  the  eagles  taken  from  the 
French  were  displayed),  Lord  Liverpool  and 
Lord  Castlereagh's  houses,  etc.  One  house  in 
St.  James'  was  particularly  fine.  The  whole 
front  resembled  a  fortress,  with  cannon,  flags, 
&c.,  formed  by  colored  lamps.  A  publican  who 
keeps  a  tavern  with  the  sign  of  a  cock,  had  a 
large  transparency  representing  a  game  cock 
strutting  over  his  fallen  combatant,  with  the 
[        116        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

inscription  "  England  the  cock  of  the  walk!  " 
The  crowd  was  very  great,  particularly  in  front 
of  Somerset  House.  The  mob  would  not  suffer 
the  coaches  to  pass  excepting  the  coachmen 
and  footmen  took  off  their  hats  as  an  acknow- 
ledgment of  the  favor.  Squibs  and  crackers 
were  plentifully  distributed  into  the  carriages, 
and  the  alarm  which  the  ladies  were  conse- 
quently thrown  into  appeared  to  delight  John 
Bull  exceedingly.  I  did  not  return  to  my  lodg- 
ing either  night  till  one  o'clock.  This  was 
early,  as  it  is  not  customary  to  get  to  bed 
here  until  twelve  upon  ordinary  occasions.  Of 
course  the  whole  morning  is  lost  in  bed.  At 
six  in  the  morning  there  are  but  very  few  per- 
sons seen  in  the  streets.  The  customary  break- 
fast hour  in  the  house  where  I  boarded  was 
from  nine  to  ten.  This  too  was  called  an  early 
one ! 

Finding  myself  a  little  indisposed  on  Sunday 
morning,  Mr.  M.  and  I  took  a  ramble  into  the 
country.  On  our  way  we  observed  a  mean- 
looking  brick  building  resembling  a  barn,  on 
the  walls  of  which  was  inscribed  in  very  large 
letters  "  The  House  of  God."  It  belongs  to  the 
[        117        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

followers  of  Joanna  Southcott,^  and  is  appro- 
priated as  their  chapel.  We  returned  to  town 
to  dine,  and  in  the  evening  attended  the  Mag- 
dalen, the  account  of  which  I  have  given  else- 
where. 

26  th.  Went  to  day  to  the  British  Institution 
for  the  Encouragement  of  Fine  Arts,  and  Bul- 
lock's Museum.  The  institution  contains  a  very 
large  and  splendid  collection  of  paintings  by 
Rubens,  Rembrandt,  Vandyk  and  other  artists 
of  the  Dutch  and  Flemish  schools.  One  picture 
(the  subject  an  old  woman  by  candle-light) 
was  finely  executed.  After  seeing  the  pictures 
in  this  gallery  a  person  can  readily  believe  what 
has  been  related  of  an  ancient  painter,  that  his 
works  were  so  naturally  executed  that  birds 
came  and  pecked  at  a  bunch  of  grapes  which 
he  had  painted !  Bullock's  collection  surpasses 
Peale's  at  Philadelphia  in  some  of  the  depart- 
ments, particularly  in  some  of  the  branches  of 

^  Johanna  Southcott  died  at  London,  1814.  A  religions 
fanatic,  founder  of  a  sect  (still  in  existence  in  England)  at 
one  time  numbering  100,000  followers.  She  wrote  prophecies 
in  doggerel  verse,  and,  professing  to  be  the  inspired  woman 
of  the  Apocalypse,  announced  in  1814  that  she  was  about 
to  give  birth  to  the  Shiloh.  Ten  days  after  making  this  an- 
nouncement she  died  of  the  dropsy. 

[        118        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

natural  history.  There  are  several  complete  sets 
of  armor  used  in  this  country  in  former  times. 
The  collection  of  fossils  and  minerals  was  re- 
spectable, but  that  of  the  birds  and  beasts  was 
very  fine  indeed.  The  birds  are  in  mahogany 
cases  and  are  arranged  in  classes,  being  placed 
upon  the  boughs  of  trees.  This  gives  them  a 
very  pretty  effect,  but  the  beautiful  manner 
in  which  the  beasts  were  disposed  pleased 
me  exceedingly.  The  spectator  enters  into  a 
saloon  the  rustic  appearance  of  which  trans- 
ports you  at  once  into  the  wilderness.  The 
thatched  roof  is  supported  by  the  trunks  of 
trees,  the  branches  from  them  mingling  together 
form  sashes  which  are  glazed.  Through  the 
glass  are  seen  the  beasts,  some  roaming  o'er 
the  rocky  cliffs,  others  crouching  in  their  dens : 
in  other  parts  are  monkeys  perched  upon  cocoa 
trees  throwing  the  fruit  to  their  companions. 
Interspersed  among  them  were  foreign  trees 
and  shrubs.  Directly  over  the  lions'  den  hung 
a  large  winter  squash.  Here  it  is  esteemed  a 
curiosity  I  In  short  I  cannot  do  justice  to 
this  admirable  collection.  It  was  with  pleasure 
I  observed  several  mothers  instructing  their 
[        119        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

children  (by  the  aid  of  books  which  are  sold 
here  for  the  purpose)  in  the  history  of  these 
animals.  Returning  home  I  passed  through  Bond 
Street,  and  beheld  a  great  display  of  fashion- 
ables. Some  of  the  ladies  were  curiously  dressed; 
their  gowns  were  cut  very  low  so  as  to  leave 
their  shoulders  bare,  while  their  clothes  reached 
but  very  little  below  their  knees.  In  the  Strand 
are  a  great  many  jeweler's  shops.  At  the  win- 
dow of  one  was  exhibited  a  large  assortment 
of  snufE-boxes,  the  prices  varied  from  150  to 
700  Guineas  each.  That  he  finds  purchasers  I 
have  but  little  doubt,  for  the  other  day  an  ad- 
vertisement appeared  in  the  public  papers  an- 
nouncing the  sale  of  Sir  Gregory  Turner's 
"splendid  collection  of  ninety-one  superb  snuff 
boxes."  In  the  Strand  is  also  to  be  seen  a  full 
grown  ox  with  five  legs ;  the  fifth  one  grows 
out  of  his  back  and  has  a  perfect  shoulder  re- 
sembling much  a  lobster's  claw.  The  English 
are  forever  upon  the  alert  to  make  money 
out  of  everything.  No  sooner  was  the  dreadful 
slaughter  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo  known  than 
half  a  dozen  advertisements  appeared  in  the 
newspapers  offering  mourning  to  the  relatives 
[       120        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

of  the  deceased,  and  one  person  offered  to  con- 
tract with  them  to  remove  the  dead  bodies  to 
England,  he  having  (as  he  states)  formed  a 
connection  in  Brussels  for  that  purpose. 

27th.  Went  to  Vauxhall  Garden,  which  to 
attempt  an  adequate  description  of  would  be 
impossible !  The  entrance  is  through  a  gloomy 
passage  at  the  end  of  which  you  pass  through 
a  small  door  and  are  immediately  transported 
into  one  of  the  fairy  scenes  of  the  Arabian 
Tales,  as  it  all  appears  enchantment.  It  is 
lighted  up  with  variegated  lamps,  fancifully 
arranged  so  as  to  give  a  brilliant  effect.  The 
walks  are  very  long  and  have  at  their  side 
seats  and  tables  set  out  with  refreshments  suffi- 
cient for  accommodating  several  thousands. 
The  rotunda  is  illuminated  by  a  chandelier 
and  is  ornamented  with  paintings.  Adjoining 
is  the  saloon,  at  the  corners  of  which  are  em- 
blems of  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe.  Here 
is  an  orchestra,  with  a  band  habited  in  the 
Scottish  costume  and  it  plays  only  Scotch 
tunes.  In  the  centre  of  the  garden  is  the  grand 
orchestra  wherein  a  fine  band  amused  the  com- 
pany. Mr.  Bland  sang  one  song  with  great 
[         121         ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

effect.  Each  verse  ended  with  these  words :  — 
"  a  sweet  little  bird  warbles  No !  no !  "  This 
"no,  no"  was  echoed  by  another  performer 
from  a  recess  of  the  garden.  At  10  o'clock 
upon  the  ringing  of  a  bell  the  company 
scampered  down  a  long  walk  where  was  ex- 
hibited a  curious  piece  of  mechanism  in  a 
scene  where  there  was  a  bridge  and  miller's 
house,  beyond  a  real  waterfall,  the  water 
tumbling  down  the  rock  and  running  under 
the  bridge ;  a  little  boat  is  seen  having  in 
it  a  sportsman  who  shoots  and  kills  a  little 
bird  flying  over  his  head.  Horses  and  carriages 
are  passing  over  the  bridge ;  —  that  of  a  stage- 
coach, the  guard  blowing  his  horn,  was  quite 
natural.  The  scene  is  then  changed  to  an  en- 
campment with  a  triumphal  procession  of 
horse  and  foot-soldiers  to  conclude.  At  the  ex- 
tremity of  another  walk  was  the  representation 
of  a  sea-fight ;  to  help  the  illusion,  the  noise  of 
real  water  dashing  against  the  sides  of  ships 
was  produced.  In  another  part  of  the  garden 
a  man  performed  several  tunes  upon  seven  in- 
struments at  once.  This  he  did  by  the  aid  of  his 
feet,  which  he  seemed  to  have  a  perfect  com- 
[        122        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

mand  of.  At  eleven  o'clock  the  nobility  and 
fashionables  began  to  enter,  when  there  was  a 
grand  display  of  dress,  for  most  all  who  are 
here  appear  in  full  dress.  I  should  imagine 
there  were  from  four  to  five  thousand  persons 
promenading  the  walks  this  night.  At  twelve 
the  fireworks  commenced.  These  were  exhib- 
ited at  the  end  of  dark  walks.  They  surpassed 
anything  of  the  kind  I  ever  beheld !  At  two 
o'clock  the  party  to  which  I  belonged  left  the 
garden,  as  the  dances  had  begun,  this  being 
the  signal  for  the  departure  of  respectable 
ladies.  Fifteen  thousand  lamps  are  lighted  in 
these  gardens  each  night  they  are  opened. 

As  I  was  coming  through  Finsbury  Square 
one  evening,  I  saw  a  man  with  a  large  tele- 
scope in  the  street,  intent  upon  looking  at  the 
stars,  and  upon  my  expressing  my  surprise  at 
its  singularity,  my  companion  informed  me 
that  this  person  stood  there  to  accommodate 
any  one  to  look  through  the  instrument,  for 
which  he  charges  two-pence.  This  is  one  of  the 
wonderful  variety  of  ways  they  have  of  making 
money  in  London ! 

On  Saturday  night  attended  Drury  Lane 
[        123       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1816 

Theatre  to  see  the  comedy  of  Wild  Oats  repre- 
sented. It  was  excellently  well  performed,  the 
parts  being  sustained  by  Elliston,  Dowton, 
Munden  and  Knight.  The  last  performer,  in 
the  character  of  Sim,  excelled  beyond  every- 
thing. I  went  into  the  pit  which  was  crowded 
with  ladies  and  gentlemen  so  full  that  I  was 
obliged  to  stand  up  for  some  time  until  a  gen- 
tleman by  hard  squeezing  contrived  to  let  me 
have  a  part  of  a  seat,  just  affording  me  room 
sufficient  to  half  sit  down.  I  was  soon  relieved 
from  this  awkward  situation  by  a  lady  (who 
was  it  appears  an  old  attender  on  the  play- 
house) having  brought  in  a  small  stool  upon 
which  she  sat  down  directly  behind  me,  and  as 
there  was  not  room  sufficient  otherwise,  thrust 
her  lap  directly  under  me  and  furnished  a  com- 
fortable seat  during  the  rest  of  the  evening. 

Sunday  I  passed  at  Camberwell-grove,  a 
sweet  village  about  three  miles  from  London. 
I  think  this  place  a  delightful  spot.  The  grove 
resembles  the  Boston  Mall,  and  is  one  mile  in 
length.  On  each  side  are  genteel  houses  with 
gardens  laid  out  in  a  tasteful  manner;  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  grove  are  two  pretty  cot- 
[        124        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

tages  with  thatched  roofs,  one  of  them  having 
a  fountain  before  it,  in  the  centre  of  which 
is  a  sea-god  upon  a  throne  of  shells,  &c.  The 
residents  of  these  houses  are  principally  mer- 
chants who  here  retire  from  the  bustle  and 
noise  of  the  city.  After  tea  we  took  a  ramble 
into  an  adjoining  village  from  which  is  a  fine 
view  of  London  and  Greenwich,  and  at  night 
returned  to  the  city.  Lord  Cochrane  of  whose 
confinement  I  have  spoken  in  my  visit  to  the 
King's  Bench  prison,  yesterday  revenged  him- 
self upon  the  ministry  (whether  intentionally 
or  not  I  do  not  know)  in  a  manner  which  has 
caused  much  public  conversation.  His  term  of 
imprisonment  was  ended  the  18th  of  last  June, 
but  as  he  refused  to  pay  the  £1000  fine  he 
was  detained  in  prison.  The  ministry  have  lately 
brought  forward  a  bill  in  Parliament  granting 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland  <£6000  per  annum 
additional  income  upon  his  marriage  with  the 
Princess  of  Salm  Salms.  This  bill  not  being 
popular.  Lord  Castlereagh  had  to  drum  up  all 
the  absent  ministerial  members  to  vote  it 
through,  when  as  they  were  taking  the  ques- 
tion. Lord  Cochrane,  having  paid  his  fine  and 
[        125        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

obtained  his  discharge,  came  into  the  House  of 
Commons  and  by  his  single  vote  negatived  the 
bill.  On  the  back  of  the  bank-note  which  he 
paid  to  government  he  wrote  a  protest,  stat- 
ing that  he  was  forced  to  comply  as  the.  ill  state 
of  his  health  demanded  that  he  should  be  lib- 
erated. 

Fourth  of  July.  Dined  with  a  friend  at 
Dolly's  chop-house.  This  house  was  formerly 
kept  by  a  woman  whose  name  was  Dolly,  and 
to  perpetuate  her  name,  a  female  servant  at- 
tends upon  customers  (which  is  not  the  case  in 
other  chop-houses)  who,  let  her  name  be  what 
it  will,  is  still  called  Dolly.  This  place  is  much 
frequented  by  the  booksellers,  as  it  is  adjoin- 
ing Paternoster  Row,  where  the  principal  book- 
sellers prosecute  their  business.  I  was  not  a 
little  amused  at  meeting  near  London  with  a 
party  of  sailors  having  the  American  flag  dis- 
played in  honor  of  Independence  Day.  They 
were  headed  by  a  Jew  playing  upon  a  hand- 
organ.  Each  one  had  his  girl  with  him,  and 
the  procession  was  closed  by  two  large  negroes 
each  with  a  white  girl  under  his  arm. 
[        126        J 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

7th.  Went  to  Covent  Garden  Theatre.  The 
play  was  the  Exile  of  Siberia,  with  the  enter- 
tainment of  the  Critic,  or  Tragedy  Rehearsed. 
In  this  piece,  Matthew,  in  Sir  Fretful  Plagia- 
rist, exhibited  his  uncommon  comic  powers. 
During  the  evening  a  row  was  raised  in  conse- 
quence of  Miss  Stephens'  not  coming  on  to 
sing,  as  was  announced  in  the  bills.  Babel  was 
quiet  and  still  in  comparison  with  the  house, 
nor  was  order  restored  until  one  person  was 
taken  by  main  force  from  the  boxes. 

The  Fishmongers'  stalls  and  Butcher  Shops 
are  worthy  of  notice  for  the  neatness  and  high 
perfection  in  which  the  articles  for  sale  are 
kept.  Although  the  fish  was  brought  a  great 
distance  yet  they  are  perfectly  fresh  and  look 
as  bright  as  when  first  taken.  Many  of  them 
have  white  marble  benches  to  display  them 
upon.  The  meat  also  in  the  Butcher  shops  is 
displayed  in  as  nice  a  manner  ;  indeed  the  way 
in  which  everything  for  sale  is  shown  in  Lon- 
don exceeds  description. 

Last  night  during  my  walks  I  discovered  a 
fire  and  after  following  the  direction  of  the 
light  for  some  time  found  that  it  was  near  the 
C        127        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1816 

Tower,  the  turrets  of  which  were  beautifully 
illuminated  by  the  flames.  The  crowd  around 
the  fire  was  immense ;  the  bustle  of  the  fire- 
men and  people  moving  their  effects  made  the 
scene  "  confusion  worse  confounded."  The  place 
consumed  was  a  gun-maker's  shop,  from  whence 
some  powder  exploded  and  wounded  several 
people. 

8th.  Went  into  a  room  in  the  Strand  where 
a  man  exhibits  the  process  of  glassmaking  in 
miniature.  This  he  does  by  means  of  a  lamp 
through  the  blaze  of  which  a  current  of  air 
passes  and  blows  the  flame  upon  the  metal  until 
it  melts.  You  pay  a  shilling  for  entrance,  to 
be  returned  in  ware,  but  he  takes  care  to  sell 
nothing  less  than  eighteen  pence.  The  alterna- 
tive then  is,  to  save  a  shilling  you  have  to  throw 
away  sixpence.  The  room  was  crowded  with 
spectators,  among  whom  were  several  ladies 
with  children  to  whom  they  were  explaining 
the  process  of  glass-making. 

It  being  the  Jewish  Sabbath  I  was  induced 

to  visit  the  Synagogue  near  Duke  Street,  the 

residence  exclusively  of  these  Shylocks.    The 

church  is  a  neat  edifice.  It  is  lighted  with  seven 

[        128        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

chandeliers,  the  pulpit,  or  desk,  where  the 
priests  stand  being  in  the  centre :  at  the  end  is 
the  altar  or  holy  of  holies,  toward  which  they 
turn  their  faces  and  bow  while  repeating  their 
prayers.  The  men  sit  with  their  hats  on.  The 
women  are  in  a  screened  gallery,  apart  from 
the  men  !  The  service  was  chanted  in  Hebrew, 
the  congregation  joining  in  at  times  in  "  din 
most  horrible."  I  came  away  disgusted  with 
the  little  reverence  they  seemed  to  pay  to  that 
Being  who  pronounced  them  His  chosen  people ! 

I  spent  the  Sabbath  at  Camberwell  Grove. 
In  the  afternoon  attended  church  and  heard  a 
good  discourse  from  the  nephew  of  the  unfor- 
tunate Dr.  Dodd.i  On  Monday  I  chanced  to 
pass  through  Smithfield  Market.  Being  market 
day  I  had  a  fair  view  of  the  great  mart  of  flesh  ; 
the  quantity  of  sheep  and  cattle  sold  here  upon 
these  days  is  immense,  and  amounts  to  an  in- 
credible number  in  the  course  of  a  year. 

Opposite    Somerset  House  is  erecting   the 

1  William  Dodd,  1729-1777 ;  clergyman  and  author.  In 
1777  he  forged  the  name  of  Lord  Chesterfield,  his  former 
pupil,  to  a  bond  for  £4200,  and  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  Dr. 
Johnson  and  other  influential  people  to  save  him,  he  was  exe- 
cuted at  London. 

[        129        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

Strand  Bridge.  This  magnificent  structure  is 
entirely  of  stone,  having  nine  arches  of  great 
width.  The  pillars  are  twelve  feet  in  thickness, 
ornamented  with  Tuscan  columns.  When  it  is 
completed  it  will  be  one  of  the  most  elegant 
structures  of  the  kind  in  the  Kingdom.  It  was 
begun  in  1811  and  will  probably  be  finished  in 
another  year.  This  is  designed  as  a  toll  bridge. 
The  other  bridges  are  all  free.  To  give  an  idea 
of  the  passing  in  London  I  will  make  an  ex- 
tract from  an  account  of  the  numbers  which 
are  computed  to  pass  over  the  respective  bridges 
daily,  viz.. 


Blackfriars 

London 

Foot  passengers 

61,069 

89,640 

Wagons 

533 

769 

Carts  &  drays 

1,602 

2,924 

Coaches 

990 

1,240 

Gigs 

500 

740 

Horses 

822 

764 

London  Bridge  is  the  great  thoroughfare  to  the 
Continent. 

Several  other  bridges  are  projected,  but 
none  are  begun  excepting  the  Vauxhall  one, 
which  progresses  but  slowly. 

12th  Today  the  Prince  Regent  prorogued 
[       130       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

both  Houses  of  Parliament.  I  went  to  see  the 
splendid  procession  usual  upon  these  occasions, 
and  was  fortunate  enough  to  procure  a  situa^ 
tion  ojjposite  the  door  of  the  House  of  Lords 
and  close  by  the  state-coach  which  was  in  wait- 
ing for  the  Prince.  I  was  enabled  thereby  to 
have  a  fair  view  of  his  person  :  his  form  is  per- 
fectly elegant,  but  his  countenance  exhibits  the 
marks  of  intemperate  habits.  He  was  dressed 
in  uniform.  When  he  made  his  appearance 
there  was  but  little  acclamation  among  the 
people.  "  Now  and  then  a  voice  cryd  God  save 
King  Richard "  and  that  was  all !  The  state 
coach  is  a  great  lumbering  vehicle,  carved  and 
gilded  all  over.  The  inside  was  lined  with  crim- 
son velvet  hung  around  with  silk  damask 
curtains.  It  was  drawn  by  six  cream-colored 
horses,  each  horse  led  by  a  groom  in  gold  and 
scarlet  livery.  Their  harnesses  were  crimson 
morocco  with  massive  gold  trimmings,  and 
their  manes  and  tails  braided  with  blue  rib- 
bons. There  were  also  many  noblemen's  car- 
riages in  the  procession,  whose  livery  and  equi- 
pages were  so  splendid  that  they  appeared  to 
try  which  should  most  outvie  each  other.  The 
[        131        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

whole  of  the  way  from  Carlton  House  to  the 
House  of  Lords  was  lined  with  horse  guards 
and  the  State  carriage  was  surrounded  by  the 
Prince's  own  regiment. 

13th.  This  morning  went  to  see  Barker's 
panoramas  of  the  Isle  of  Elba  and  of  the  bat- 
tle of  the  Heights  of  Montmartre  before  Paris 
in  1814.  He  is  esteemed  as  the  first  artist  in 
this  line  in  the  world,  and  after  viewing  his 
works  no  one,  I  am  sure,  would  be  disposed  to 
dispute  his  claim  to  the  title.  The  battle  ap- 
pears to  be  raging  around  you,  and  you  are  at 
once  carried  by  imagination  amid  scenes  of 
horror  and  carnage.  Through  the  smoke  of  the 
cannon  is  a  view  of  Paris  and  its  environs.  The 
view  of  Elba  is,  I  think,  superior  to  the  battle, 
it  being  so  beautifully  illusive  as  to  make  one 
almost  forget  he  is  in  London  and  carries  one 
at  once  to  the  far-famed  residence  of  Bona- 
parte. The  whole  is  incomparably  well  done. 
The  water  in  particular  appears  of  the  same 
hue  and  the  same  glassy  surface  as  reality.  So 
deceiving  is  it  that  I  am  informed  a  Newfound- 
land dog  belonging  to  a  gentleman  jumped  over 
the  railing  which  divides  the  painting  from  the 
[        132       ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

spectator  and  made  a  plunge  at  that  part  rep- 
resenting water,  so  much  was  he  deceived  by  it. 
Crowds  of  spectators  attend  daily  to  repay  the 
artist  for  his  admirable  work. 

The  whole  town  has  for  some  time  past  been 
agitated  by  the  suicidal  death  of  Mr.  Whit- 
bread.i  Many  reports  have,  as  usual  upon  such 
occasions,  been  circulated  as  to  the  cause,  and 
many  high  eulogiums  have  been  made  upon  his 
character  even  by  his  political  opponents.  The 
opposition  party  have  by  his  death  received  a 
blow  from  which  they  will  not  for  a  long  time 
recover. 

Lackington's  Bookstore,  near  Finsbury 
Square,  is  a  capacious  building,  containing  an 
immense  number  of  volumes  of  books  for  sale, 
In  this  place  they  were  extremely  polite  to 
strangers.  I  was  desired  to  walk  through  the 
building.  There  were  five  large  rooms,  entirely 
filled  with  books  and  as  many  circular  gal- 
leries filled  likewise,  —  the  whole  lighted  from 
the  top  by  a  skylight.  This  place  is  well  worth 

^  Samuel  Whitbread,  born  1758;  died  July  5,  1815.  An 
able  advocate  of  parliamentary  reform,  religious  and  civil 
liberty,  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  similar  liberal  causes ; 
a  strong  opponent  of  Pitt's  war  policy. 

[        133        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

visiting.  Lackington  himself  has  retired  to  the 
country  and  takes  no  active  part  in  the  busi- 
ness. 

Sunday  there  was  a  collection  at  St.  An- 
drew's Church  for  the  sufferers  by  the  battle 
at  Waterloo.  A  Mr.  Price  delivered  the  ser- 
mon from  Zechariah  14th,  6th  and  7th.  The 
substance  of  the  discourse  was  similar  to  that 
in  those  beautiful  lines  of  Dr.  Beattie,  viz.  — 

One  part !  one  little  part  we  scan; 

Through  the  dark  medium  of  life's  feverish  dream; 

Yet  dare  arrange  the  whole  stupendous  plan 

If  but  that  little  part  incongruous  seem. 

Nor  is  that  part  perhaps  what  mortals  deem: 

Oft  from  apparent  ills  our  blessings  rise. 

Oh  !  then  renounce  that  impious  self-esteem 

Which  aims  to  know  the  secrets  of  the  skies, 

For  thou  art  but  of  dust,  be  humble  and  be  wise. 

On  Monday,  in  company  with  a  small  party, 
took  an  excursion  to  Richmond.  The  road,  lying 
upon  the  Thames  bank  was  ornamented  with 
many  pretty  houses  and  gardens.  Kew  Gardens, 
the  favorite  residence  of  George  III,  lay  upon 
our  right.  The  road  was  pretty,  yet  I  think  that 
many  places  in  the  United  States  can  boast  of 
as  handsome  seats,  particularly  around  Boston, 
[        134        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

Hellgate  near  New  York,  and  those  which 
adorn  the  banks  of  the  Delaware  near  Phila- 
delphia. But  when  we  ascended  Richmond 
Hill !  —  in  the  language  of  the  poet :  — 

"  Heavens  !  what  a  goodly  prospect  spread  around, 
Of  bills,  and  dales,  and  woods  and  lawns  and  spires, 
And  glittering  towns,  and  gilded  streams,  till  all 
The  stretching  landscape  into  smoke  decays. 
Enchanting  vale  !  beyond  what  ere  the  muse 
Has  of  Achaia  or  Hesperia  sung  ! 
O  vale  of  bliss  !  O  softly  swelling  hills  ! 
On  which  the  Power  of  cultivation  lies, 
And  joys  to  see  the  wonder  of  his  toil." 

I  was  quite  enchanted  with  the  scene  before 
me  1  the  winding  of  the  "  silvery  Thames,"  the 
beautiful  lawns  gradually  sloping  from  the 
houses  upon  its  banks,  and  its  charming  walks 
overshadowed  with  trees,  conspired  altogether 
to  render  it  a  charming  place.  Numerous  par- 
ties were  enjoying  themselves,  either  upon  the 
grass  plat  or  in  sailing  in  pleasure  boats  on 
the  river.  One  company  was  footing  it  to  the 
music  of  the  pipe  and  tabor.  All  appeared  to 
be  exhilarated !    Here  it  was  that  Thomson  ^ 

^  Thomson,  James,  1700-1748.  A  poet  and  writer  of  playa, 

one  of  which,  "  Sophonisha,"  written  in  1730,  contained  the 

famous  line  (which  killed  the  piece)  "  O  Sophonisba !  Sopho- 

nisba  0 !  "  parodied  by  every  one  as  "  0  Jemmy  Thomson, 

[        135        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

wrote  his  Seasons,  and  doubtless  received  in- 
spiration from  the  enchanting  views  around 
him.  Our  time  did  not  permit  us  to  visit  that 
spot  which  he  so  much  loved.  I  much  wished 
it  but  was  compelled  to  be  content  with  drink- 
ing a  glass  of  wine  to  his  memorj',  having  in 
view  from  the  windows  of  our  apartment  those 
scenes  which  his  pen  has  immortalized.  We 
rambled  through  a  part  of  Richmond  Park, 
from  which  is  a  fine  view  of  St.  Paul's  and 
Westminster  Abbey.  Upon  the  hill  are  many 
houses  in  the  occupation  of  the  nobility  and 
gentry.  One  of  them  is  built  in  imitation  of  a 
castle  having  its  turrets  fallen  to  decay  and 
overgrown  with  ivy.  The  town  of  Richmond 
has  nothing  worthy  of  notice  excepting  the 
Bridge  across  the  river.  This  has  a  very  pretty 
effect  at  a  small  distance  below  it.  When  our 
carriage  was  ready  I  sincerely  regretted  to 
leave  this  sweet  spot,  and  I  think  that  one 
must  be  utterly  insensible  to  the  beauties  of 
nature  not  to  admire  such  a  scene  as  Richmond 
Hill.   The  view  from  Milton  Hill  near  Boston 

Jemmy  Thomson  0 !  "  Also  wrote  the  famous  song  "  Rule 
Britannia." 

[        136        J 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

bears  a  faint  resemblance  to  that  of  Richmond, 
and  has  I  think  the  preference  in  one  particu- 
lar, —  the  view  of  the  sea !  while  that  of  Rich- 
mond is  "  one  boundless  landscape  "  only  ter- 
minated by  the  horizon. 

On  Tuesday  I  received  a  note  from  Mr.  C. 
informing  me  of  the  sudden  death  of  his  child. 
I  immediately  waited  upon  him  and  found  him 
and  Mrs.  C.  in  the  greatest  affliction.  Mrs. 
C.'s  case  was  peculiarly  distressing,  sustaining 
the  loss  of  an  only  child  in  a  foreign  land  and 
not  being  acquainted  with  any  female  who 
could  sympathize  with  her  and  offer  consola- 
tion. Two  English  gentlemen  who  were  entire 
strangers  to  them,  having  heard  of  their  mis- 
fortune kindly  offered  their  advice  and  services, 
and  tendered  the  assistance  of  the  female  part 
of  their  family  to  Mr.  C.  One  of  them  had  the 
family  grave  opened  to  receive  the  body.  The 
funeral  took  place  upon  Thursday  morning.  A 
priest  of  the  dissenting  persuasion  attended  on 
the  occasion  and  offered  prayers  at  the  apart- 
ments of  Mr.  C.  and  also  an  address  and  prayer 
at  the  grave,  which  was  in  the  same  church- 
yard in  which  John  Bunyan,  author  of  Pilgrim's 
[        137        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

Progress  lies  buried.  His  tombstone  was  pointed 
out  to  me. 

Lounging  in  the  park  today  I  turned  into 
the  street  which  leads  to  Westminster  Abbey, 
and  went  iu  once  more  to  view  that  venerable 
building.  I  was  not  less  interested  than  on  my 
former  visit  there.  I  could  not  walk  through 
this  receptacle  of  the  ashes  of  kings,  warriors, 
statesmen,  poets  and  other  great  men  without 
instructive  lessons  on  the  vanity  and  shortness 
of  life.  Many  of  the  monuments  are  so  crum- 
bled by  the  hand  of  Time  that  their  inscriptions 
are  scarcely  legible ;  many  are  entirely  effaced ! 
Yet  with  this  knowledge  of  the  folly  of  out- 
standing the  lapse  of  ages,  vanity  still  raises 
yearly  new  monuments,  which  three  or  four 
hundred  years  hence  will  puzzle  the  antiqua- 
rian in  discovering  for  whom  they  were  erected. 
I  purchased  a  book  here  which  gives  a  particu- 
lar description  of  the  Abbey.  In  it  is  an  ex- 
tract not  inappropriate  to  be  inserted  here, 
Speaking  of  this  building  the  author  says  ♦'  I 
have  wandered  with  pleasure  into  the  most 
gloomy  recesses  of  this  last  resort  of  grandeur, 
to  contemplate  human  life,  and  trace  mankind 
[        138        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

through  all  the  wilderness  of  their  frailties 
and  misfortunes,  from  their  cradles  to  their 
graves.  I  have  reflected  on  the  shortness  of  our 
duration  here,  and  that  I  was  but  one  of  the 
millions  who  had  been  employed  in  the  same 
manner,  in  ruminating  on  the  trophies  of  mor- 
tality before  me :  that  this  huge  fabric,  this 
sacred  repository  of  fame  and  grandeur  would 
only  be  the  stage  for  the  same  performances : 
would  receive  new  accessions  of  noble  dust: 
would  be  adorn'd  with  other  sepulchres  of  cost 
and  magnificence,  would  be  crowded  with  suc- 
cessive admirers :  and  at  last  by  the  unavoid- 
able decay  of  time  bury  the  whole  collection 
of  antiquities  in  general  obscurity,  and  be  the 
monument  of  its  own  ruin."  — 

Saturday  evening  I  attended  the  little 
theatre  at  the  Haymarket.  This  house  is  only 
open  in  the  summer  for  the  exhibition  of  petit 
comedies  and  farces.  One  of  the  pieces  repre- 
sented this  evening  satirized  the  English  char- 
acter for  the  prevalence  of  suicide  ;  the  other 
was  an  admirable  production  from  the  French, 
called  the  Beehive,  wherein  Matthews  repre- 
sented an  old  inn-keeper  (the  master  of  the 
[        139        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

Beehive).  His  comic  Powers  kept  the  whole 
house  in  a  roar.  One  of  the  dramatis  personae 
was  an  officer  who  described  everything  by  tech- 
nical language.  The  one  who  sustained  that 
part  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  late 
Col.  Tuttle  and  often  reminded  me  of  him. 

Sunday  I  walked  to  Highgate,  a  small  village 
placed  upon  an  eminence  four  miles  from  Lon- 
don. Thompson  in  his  description  of  Richmond 
Hill  denominates  it  one  of  the  "  sister  hills." 
The  prospect  from  this  place  is  extensive,  em- 
bracing a  fine  view  of  the  city.  Here  is  a  cause- 
way built  across  a  valley  through  which  one  of 
the  great  roads  of  London  runs.  It  is  of  suffi- 
cient width  for  carriages  to  pass,  and  is  formed 
of  stone  with  a  composition  railing.  I  returned 
to  the  city  by  another  road  for  the  purpose  of 
varying  the  excursion.  It  is  almost  incredible 
as  to  the  number  of  persons  who  leave  town  on 
the  Sabbath  here  for  a  ramble  into  the  country. 
Vehicles  of  every  descriptions,  from  the  elegant 
barouche  and  chariot  to  the  humble  horse-cart, 
are  put  in  requisition,  and  thousands  of  pedes- 
trians, men,  women  and  children,  crowd  all  the 
avenues  of  the  city  upon  this  day,  being  by 
[         140        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1816 

their  occupations  so  much  engaged  on  week-days 
as  to  prevent  their  enjoying  this  comfort. 

Being  in  want  of  a  passport  to  enable  me  to 
leave  the  country,  I  was  obliged  to  wait  upon 
Mr.  Adams,  the  United  States  Minister  to  the 
British  Court,  to  obtain  a  paper  to  enable  me 
to  obtain  one.  I  went  accompanied  by  Dr.  W. 
After  walking  about  four  miles,  we  found  him 
at  the  west  part  of  the  town,  in  lodgings  at  a 
bouse  in  Harley  Street.  Over  the  front  door 
was  a  signboard  in  large  characters  denoting 
that  warm  and  vapor  baths  were  to  be  had 
here.  We  were  not  at  all  pleased  that  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  American  nation  should  be 
so  meanly  lodged.  This  we  thought  was  carry- 
ing his  Republican  simplicity  a  little  too  far! 
Mr.  Adams  treated  us  politely  and  furnished 
me  with  the  necessary  passport,  being  most 
particularly  expressed  in  the  following  manner, 
viz.,  —  "  Age  26  years,  Stature  5  feet,  10 
inches.  Forehead  high.  Eyes  blue,  Nose  aquiline, 
Mouth  common,  Chin  round,  Hair  dark  brown, 
Complexion  clear,  &  Face  oval."  After  we  had 
called  upon  Mr.  A.  we  went  to  visit  Messrs. 
Alston,  Leslie  and  Morse,  American  painters. 
[        141        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

Mr.  Morse  was  on  the  eve  of  setting  out  for 
Liverpool  to  embark  from  there  to  the  United 
States.  He  shewed  us  a  painting  of  his  which 
he  had  just  finished  to  be  exhibited  at  the 
Academy,  they  having  proposed  the  subject, 
for  a  prize.  Mr.  A.,  being  very  much  engaged, 
was  with  us  but  a  few  minutes.  Mr.  Leslie  I 
was  extremely  pleased  with.  He  is  possessed  of 
very  prepossessing  manners.  His  celebrity  and 
that  of  Mr.  Alston  as  professional  men  is  daily 
gaining  ground  and  they  bid  fair  to  fill  part  of 
the  chasm  which  will  be  formed  by  the  death 
of  West,  who  is  now  much  advanced  in  life. 

There  is  never  a  dearth  of  novelty  to  a 
stranger  in  the  streets  of  London.  Numerous 
ways  are  resorted  to  by  the  beggars  to  attract 
attention  and  gain  a  halfpenny.  One  poor 
fellow  who  had  lost  both  his  legs,  has  a  board 
before  him  upon  which  he  chalks  in  so  elegant 
a  manner  that  it  would  not  disgrace  a  copper- 
plate engraver,  any  word  that  the  spectator 
desires,  beginning  at  the  end  and  writing  them 
\  bottom  upward,  thus  Xbav  siqij  ui.  Having  often 
heard  of  "  rag  fair  "  and  accidentally  mention- 
[        142       ] 


I 


ENGLAND  IN   1816 

ing  it  at  dinner,  one  of  my  fellow  lodgers  offered 
to  be  my  guide  thither.  We  accordingly  went 
to  that  celebrated  mart  of  cast-off  garments. 
Just  before  we  got  there  we  were  pestered  with 
Jews  in  front  of  their  shops  who  gave  us  press- 
ing invitations  of  "  pleshe  to  valk  in,  Shur,  and 
puy  a  shecond-hand  coat  shust  as  coot  as  new." 
When  we  arrived  in  the  midst  of  the  fair,  a 
scene  presented  itself  which  almost  baffles  de- 
scription. Millions  of  cast-off  habits,  of  every 
fashion  and  quality,  and  in  all  stages  of  decay 
were  here  exhibited  for  sale.  In  one  part  was 
seen  a  fellow  striving  to  thrust  himself  into  a 
coat,  and  in  another  an  old  hag  cheapening  a 
pair  of  worn-out  shoes.  I  came  away  highly 
entertained  with  my  visit  to  this  place. 

Sunday,  30th.  This  day  I  passed  at  Cam- 
berwell  grove  and  attended  a  church  near  that 
place.  The  preacher  was  extremely  eloquent 
and  delivered  extempore  a  very  pathetic  and 
elegant  discourse  upon  the  necessity  of  our 
"  living  unto  God,"  but  most  unfortunately  his 
paying  a  greater  attention  to  the  displaying  of 
a  brilliant  ring  gave  me  an  impression  that  he 
was  one  of  those  who  "  shewed  us  the  steep  and 
[        143       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

thorny  road  to  heaven  while  he  the  path  of 
dalliance  kept."  My  serious  impressions  were 
by  this  deportment  in  the  preacher  dissipated. 
The  following  day  I  went  to  the  East  India 
House  for  the  purpose  of  viewing  its  museum 
of  curiosities.  The  oi^ulence  of  the  company 
and  the  power  they  have  acquired  by  their 
conquests  in  India  have  thrown  into  their  pos- 
session the  greatest  and  richest  collection  of 
eastern  curiosities  in  the  world.  We  were  first 
conducted  into  the  Library,  containing  a  splen- 
did collection  of  Eastern  literature,  among 
which  is  a  book  of  dreams  in  Tippoo  Sahib's 
own  hand-writing,  the  Poems  of  Hafiz,  and 
innumerable  other  Indian,  Chinese  and  Persian 
manuscripts.  Here  is  also  a  collection  of  min- 
erals, shells,  &c.  In  the  next  room  are  some 
Hindu  idols,  bricks  from  Babylon,  a  marble 
covered  with  characters  from  the  same  place 
and  which  is  supposed  to  contain  some  matter 
relative  to  the  history  of  that  magnificent  city. 
Many  learned  men  have  studied  it  to  decipher 
it,  but  have  not  succeeded  as  the  characters  are 
totally  unknown  at  the  present  day.  In  the 
same  room  is  a  curious  piece  of  mechanism 
[        144        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

representing  a  tiger  having  In  his  fangs  a  fig- 
ure dressed  in  the  English  costume.  By  turn- 
ing a  handle  in  the  manner  of  an  organ  the 
screeching  of  distress  and  the  roaring  of  the 
b^ast  are  produced  ;  at  the  same  time  the  hand 
of  the  man  is  moved  to  ward  off  the  paws  of 
the  beast.  Playing  upon  this  instrument  was 
Tippoo  Sahib's  chief  amusement !  Enclosed  in 
a  glass  case  is  a  head  of  a  tiger  which  stood  at 
the  foot  of  the  sultan's  throne ;  it  is  of  solid 
gold,  the  eyes  and  teeth  being  of  crystal.  It 
now  lies  on  a  carpet  of  crimson  velvet  studded 
with  gold,  which  was  used  as  a  cover  to  the 
throne.  The  Chinese  gardens  in  this  apartment 
are  very  beautiful.  The  trees  are  of  silver,  the 
birds  and  beasts  of  gold,  and  the  water  of 
mother-of-pearl.  We  were  also  shown  a  medal 
struck  for  the  Company  by  the  celebrated 
Bolton  of  Birmingham.  The  workmanship  of  it 
is  so  exquisitely  fine  as  to  require  a  magnifying 
glass  to  discover  the  representation  of  a  battle 
upon  it  which  this  was  designed  to  commemo- 
rate. Several  port-folios  of  views  in  India  exe- 
cuted by  the  first  artists  and  amounting  to 
several  hundred  pictures  were  also  shown  to  the 
[        145        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

visitor.  The  collection  of  curiosities  in  this 
place  is  very  grand,  and  the  bare  amount  of  the 
precious  metals  must  be  immense. 

In  company  with  Dr.  W.  took  a  ride  to 
Kensington  Gardens,  situated  at  the  extremity 
of  Hyde  Park.  It  is  by  far  the  most  beauti- 
ful promenade  that  London  or  its  immediate 
vicinity  affords.  The  grandeur  and  wildness  of 
the  woods  more  strongly  reminded  me  of  the 
American  forest  scenery  than  any  other  place  I 
have  seen,  in  England.  There  is  a  palace  here 
which  has  nothing  remarkable  in  its  external 
appearance  ;  from  the  terrace  in  front  is  a  fine 
view  of  lawn  and  a  piece  of  water.  Beyond,  the 
woods  are  of  such  impenetrable  thickness  that 
a  person  would  suppose  he  was  a  long  distance 
from  a  city.  The  gardens  contain  three  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  laid  out  in  charming  walks, 
groves,  etc.  The  trees  are  principally  oak  and 
chestnut.  These  gardens  are  open  to  the  public 
except  to  liveried  servants  and  persons  carrying 
bundles.  Park  keepers  are  stationed  at  the  gates 
to  preserve  order  and  decorum,  and  at  proper 
distances  are  seats  for  the  company.  At  the 
gates,  several  footmen  in  splendid  liveries  were 
[        146        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

waiting  for  their  masters  or  mistresses  who 
were  here  promenading. 

Being  obliged  to  take  Mr.  Adams's  passport 
to  the  Alien  Office  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
Lord  Sidmouth's  license  to  leave  the  country, 
I  chanced  to  meet  a  friend  on  the  way  thither 
who  informed  me  that  a  small  douce  would  be 
a  great  facility  in  enabling  me  to  get  it,  al- 
though the  Alien  Act  expressly  provides  that 
they  shall  be  given  gratis.  When  I  came  to  the 
office  I  received  the  pass  from  a  man  of  gentle- 
manly appearance,  who  with  many  profound 
bows  excused  himself  for  making  me  wait,  &c. 
&c.  at  the  same  time  looking  me  in  the  face  as 
if  he  were  saying  "  you  must  be  a  stupid  fellow 
if  you  don't  understand  me !  "  I  put  four  shil- 
lings into  his  hand  and  received  many  polite 
assurances  as  to  the  pleasure  it  would  afford 
him  to  be  of  service  to  me  in  renewing  the 
passports,  and  that  if  I  wrote  from  Liverpool 
I  might  depend  upon  a  speedy  answer  to  my 
letter.  It  is  true  the  law  did  not  compel  me  to 
give  the  man  anything,  but  if  I  had  not,  and  it 
should  have  happened  that  I  wished  for  a  re- 
newal of  the  paper,  it  might  have  been  delayed 
[        147        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

and  I  had  cause  to  regret  not  having  paid  the 
accustomed  tribute. 

Since  my  residence  in  England  some  of  the 
most  important  events  in  modern  history  have 
occurred,  the  most  prominent  of  which  is  the 
downfall  and  captivity  of  Buonaparte.  London 
has  been  agitated  many  times  in  consequence 
of  reports  that  apartments  had  been  fitted  up 
in  the  Tower  for  his  reception,  and  so  much 
were  these  believed  that  some  thousands  of 
the  populace  waited  a  long  time  upon  London 
Bridge  in  order  to  see  him  pass.  It  is  now,  how- 
ever, understood  that  he  is  to  be  sent  to  St. 
Helena,  there  to  remain  a  prisoner  for  life. 
Thousands  have  gone  from  all  parts  of  Eng- 
land to  Plymouth  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
disturber  of  the  world.  He  is  now  confined  on 
board  of  the  Bellerophon  Frigate,  on  board  of 
which  no  one  is  allowed  to  go.  The  boats  which 
daily  sail  around  this  vessel  for  the  purpose  of 
carrjdug  persons  to  see  him  are  estimated  at 
two  thousand. 

Sunday,  6th  August.  Parted  with  Mr.  M.'s 
family  at  Camberwell  Grove.  During  my  stay 
in  England  they  had  paid  every  attention  to 
[        148        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

me,  endeavoring  to  make  my  absence  from 
home  as  pleasant  as  possible.  It  was  with  real 
regret  that  I  took  a  last  farewell  of  this  family. 
One  of  the  most  serious  counterbalances  to  the 
pleasure  of  travelling  is  that  after  having  formed 
an  acquaintance  with  those  whom  you  would 
esteem  through  life  you  are  obliged  to  part, 
and  this  without  a  hope  of  ever  again  meeting 
them ! 

Having  been  introduced  a  few  weeks  ago  to 
a  Mr.  C,  a  fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Oxford, 
it  luckily  chanced  that  he  was  going  there  on  a 
few  days'  visit,  and  hearing  of  my  intention  of 
taking  that  place  into  my  route  to  Birmingham, 
very  politely  invited  me  to  join  him  and  stop 
a  day  or  two  in  that  city.  As  such  an  opportu- 
nity was  too  fortunate  to  be  declined,  I  ac- 
cepted the  invitation  and  accordingly  having 
taken  our  seats  upon  the  top  of  the  coach,  we 
on  Monday  morning  took  our  departure  from 
London.  Fortunately  the  day  was  fine,  and  as 
some  rain  had  fallen  the  night  previous  we  were 
not  incommoded  with  the  dust.  We  passed 
through  Kew.  The  palace  lay  upon  our  right 
and  appeared  to  be  as  devoid  of  elegance  as  all 
[        149       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

the  royal  residences  in  this  country  are.  We 
continued  on  through  the  neat  village  of  Ham- 
raersley,  and  Slough.  A  little  before  we  came 
to  the  latter  place  we  had  a  charming  view  of 
Windsor  Castle  which  lay  at  about  a  mile  dis- 
tant on  our  left.  It  is  situated  upon  an  emi- 
nence from  which  is  an  extensive  view.  Its 
exterior  appearance  is  much  more  elegant  than 
any  other  palace  I  have  seen.  It  is  at  present 
the  residence  of  King  George,  who  has  always 
given  the  place  a  preference.  Our  route  lay 
over  Hounslow  Heath  (a  barren  and  desolate 
spot,  so  much  celebrated  for  the  robberies  com- 
mitted here),  through  Maidenhead  to  Henley 
on  the  Thames.  Here  we  crossed  this  river 
over  a  stone  bridge  leading  to  the  town,  which 
is  truly  a  charming  place,  possessing  an  air  of 
neatness,  with  a  fine  situation  which  renders 
it  superior  to  any  other  village  I  have  seen  in 
England.  I  regretted  that  the  rapidity  of  our 
travelling  did  not  permit  me  to  pass  a  few 
hours  in  this  pretty  place.  Ten  miles  this  side 
Oxford  we  crossed  the  Isis  and  entered  Dor- 
chester, —  a  dirty,  mean-looking  village.  The 
entrance  to  Oxford  inspires  a  favorable  impres- 
[        150        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

sion  of  that  beautiful  city,  the  towers  of  many 
churches  and  colleges  are  seen  through  the 
foliage  of  the  fine  trees  with  which  this  city 
abounds.  After  passing  a  handsome  bridge  we 
entered  High  Street,  esteemed  the  most  beauti- 
ful street  in  Europe.  On  the  right  is  the  front 
of  Magdalen  College,  and  it  is  adorned  with 
the  fronts  of  several  other  colleges  and  halls. 
My  companion  and  myself  alighted  at  the  inn, 
and  after  we  had  deposited  our  baggage  he  hur- 
ried me  away  to  a  livery  stable  to  look  at  some 
favorite  horses  which  belonged  to  him.  I  soon 
found  that  Latin  and  Greek  had  but  few 
charms  for  him  when  compared  to  his  favorite 
amusements  of  hunting  and  racing.  He  kept 
three  horses  and  about  a  dozen  dogs  for  those 
purposes,  nor  was  he  alone  in  this,  as  there 
were  many  other  animals  here  belonging  to  the 
fellows  of  the  respective  colleges.  It  being 
the  long  vacation,  and  but  few  collegians  in 
the  city,  Oxford  appeared  quite  dull.  Mr.  C. 
took  me  to  his  chambers  in  Trinity  College, 
which  were  pleasantly  situated.  Attached  to 
his  college  is  a  church  of  uncommon  elegance. 
The  ceiling  is  most  exquisitely  painted  and  the 
[        161        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

altar  adorned  with  some  fine  carved  work  in 
marble.  In  the  garden  belonging  to  the  college 
is  a  secluded  walk  in  the  manner  of  an  arbor, 
the  top  of  it  being  formed  by  the  intermingling 
of  the  branches  of  the  lime  tree.  The  hawthorn 
hedge  which  surrounds  the  ground  is  curiously 
cut  so  as  to  bear  a  resemblance  to  a  board 
fence.  In  the  New  College  church  the  painted 
windows  are  estimated  as  the  first  work  of  the 
kind  in  the  kingdom.  That  from  a  design  by 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  is  very  fine.  Many  an- 
cient painted  windows  adorn  this  chapel.  The 
colors  of  them  are  in  the  highest  perfection 
although  many  hundred  years  have  elapsed 
since  they  were  painted.  In  a  small  cabinet 
adjoining  the  altar  is  kept  the  crosier  which 
formerly  belonged  to  William  of  Wykeham, 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  church.  It  is  of  sil- 
ver gilt  surmounted  with  small  gothic  images. 
The  altar  piece  of  this  church  is  also  carved  out 
of  marble.  The  Theatre  where  all  the  prize 
poems  are  recited  is  a  fine  building.  The  ceil- 
ing of  it  is  estimated  a  great  curiosity,  as  it  is 
entirely  unsupported  by  pillars  although  its  di- 
mensions contain  5600  square  feet.  It  is  painted 
[         152         ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

by  Sir  James  Thornhill.  The  chairs  used  by 
the  Allied  sovereigns  during  their  visit  last 
year  are  in  an  ante-room.  They  are  made  of 
gold  burnished  with  silk  crimson  velvet !  Near 
to  the  theatre  is  the  Clarendon  printing  office, 
where  Bibles  and  Prayer-books  are  printed. 
The  expense  of  its  erection  was  defrayed  from 
the  sale  of  Lord  Clarendon's  manuscript  his- 
tory, which  was  given  for  that  purpose.  The 
Bodleian  Library  contains  35,000  volumes  and 
60,000  manuscripts,  as  also  a  gallery  with  a 
large  collection  of  pictures  and  busts.  The  ceil- 
ing is  adorned  with  the  arms  of  the  respective 
colleges.  Among  the  pictures  are  some  copies 
of  the  cartoons  of  Raphael.  An  incident  oc- 
curred here  which  made  me  smile.  Mr.  C, 
whose  love  of  Greek  and  Latin  was  not  exces- 
sively ardent,  indignantly  shaking  his  fist  in  the 
face  of  a  bust  of  Homer  exclaimed,  "If  it  had 
not  been  for  your  writing  that  cursed  hard 
book  my  brains  would  have  escaped  many  a 
puzzling !  "  Two  windows  in  this  gallery  are 
entirely  formed  from  the  relics  of  painted  win- 
dows from  different  parts  of  the  kingdom  which 
are  most  curiously  cemented  together.  Oppo- 
C        153        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

site  here  is  Hertford  College,  now  in  a  state  of 
decay.  Charles  James  Fox  was  a  feUow  of  it. 
It  now  has  but  two  or  three  belonging  to  it,  and 
they  are  esteemed  as  eccentrics,  and  almost  as 
great  curiosities  as  the  old  edifice.  The  Ead- 
cliffe  Camera  is  another  fine  building.  It  stands 
in  the  centre  of  a  beautiful  area.  The  architec- 
ture of  it  is  admirable,  particularly  the  staircase 
composed  of  stone  and  so  formed  as  to  appear 
unsupported.  The  books  are  arranged  in  cab- 
inets. From  the  dome,  which  you  ascend  by  a 
stone  cylindrical  staircase,  is  an  extensive  view 
of  the  city  and  adjacent  country.  There  is  no 
place  in  the  world  where  there  are  so  many 
public  buildings  in  so  small  a  space  as  the  city 
of  Oxford,  nor  are  there  many  which  can  vie 
with  it  in  elegance !  On  the  floor  of  the  library 
stand  two  marble  candelabra  of  superb  work- 
manship. They  were  found  in  the  ruins  of  the 
Emperor  Hadrian's  palace  at  Tivoli.  One  of 
the  principal  embellishments  to  this  city  is  the 
college  gardens,  as  most  of  them  have  very  large 
ones,  laid  out  in  charming  walks  :  that  of  the 
Magdalen  in  particular  is  one  mile  and  a  half 
in  length. 

[        154       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

The  following  day,  in  company  with  Mr.  C. 
and  mounted  on  his  horses,  we  took  our  way  to 
Woodstock  to  visit  Blenheim,  the  seat  of  the 
Duke  of  Marlborough.  Woodstock  is  a  small 
neat  village,  famed  for  its  manufacture  of 
leather  and  fine  steel  work.  Hard  by  is  the 
princely  mansion  of  Blenheim,  which  stands  in 
the  midst  of  a  park  which  contains  2700  acres 
of  land  and  300  of  water.  The  walls  are  twelve 
miles  round.  You  enter  this  park  through  a 
gate  of  the  Corinthian  order  and  are  at  once 
presented  with  a  view  of  the  mansion.  Oppo- 
site is  a  lake  having  an  elegant  bridge  thrown 
over  it.  Directly  in  front  of  this  upon  ^n  emi- 
nence stands  a  lofty  pedestal  having  upon  it  a 
statue  of  the  great  Duke.  Upon  it  are  recorded 
in  marble  his  various  achievements  and  the 
Acts  of  Parliament  granting  this  place  as  a  re- 
ward for  his  services.  The  interior  of  the  house 
is  superbly  elegant.  We  were  shown  through 
the  following  apartments :  the  Hall,  "  Bow- 
window  room,"  Duke's  Dressing-room,  East 
Drawing-room,  Grand  cabinet,  Blue  Drawing- 
room,  State  Drawing-room,  Dining-room,  Sa- 
loon, Green  drawing-room.  State  bedchamber, 
[        155       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

Winter  drawing-room,  Library,  Chapel,  Thear 
tre,  and  La  Titian  gallery ;  the  whole  contain- 
ing an  immense  collection  of  statues,  and  paint- 
ings by  the  first  artists,  and  otherwise  furnished 
in  a  style  of  great  splendour.  The  library  is 
quite  elegant.  The  number  of  volumes  of  books 
is  24,000.  Li  the  chapel  is  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  the  great  duke  and  his  duchess,  and 
a  very  fine  picture  over  the  altar  by  some 
Dutch  artist.  The  theatre  is  a  pretty  little 
place,  capable  of  containing  200  persons.  The 
scenery  is  in  perfect  order  although  there  have 
been  no  performances  here  for  twenty  years. 
Far  different,  this  reward  for  services,  to  our 
country,  which  even  denies  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  him  who  is  acknowledged  as  her 
saviour ! 

We  spent  three  hours  in  viewing  this  palace. 
On  our  return  to  Oxford  the  duke  passed  us  in 
his  carriage.  He  is  an  old  man  of  77  years  of 
age,  and  is  great  grandson  to  the  famous  Duke. 
In  the  afternoon  I  mentioned  to  my  companion 
the  necessity  of  my  going  the  next  morning 
to  Birmingham,  &c.  Li  reply  he  pressed  me  to 
stay  a  day  or  two  longer,  observing  that  Ox- 
[        156       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

ford  was  far  pleasanter  than  those  damned  cot- 
ton-spinning places.  In  the  morning  I  took  my 
leave  and  having  mounted  upon  the  box  seat 
alongside  the  coachman,  bid  farewell  to  Ox- 
ford. I  was  much  entertained  by  the  coachman 
who  was,  as  he  informed  me,  a  freeholder,  and 
who  took  considerable  interest  in  an  election 
of  a  member  of  Parliament  by  distributing  to 
those  of  his  side  the  house  handbills,  a  bundle 
of  which  he  carried  with  him  for  the  purpose. 
We  changed  horses  at  Stratford-upon-Avon, 
immortalized  as  the  birthplace  of  Shakespere. 
While  this  was  doing,  curiosity  impelled  me 
to  visit  the  house,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
wretched  hovels  I  ever  beheld,  and  is  now  used 
as  a  butcher's  shop.  An  old  woman  (who,  as 
she  informed  me,  was  a  descendant  of  the  poet) 
was  my  conductor.  Many  things  which  be- 
longed to  the  bard  were  shewn  me,  such  as  his 
chair,  which  is  cut  almost  up  for  relics,  a  bench, 
sword,  iron  box,  picture,  linstock,  table,  candle- 
sticks, some  coins,  &c.  &c.  I  continued  my  ride 
to  Birmingham.  The  entrance  to  the  town  is 
quite  pretty  and  quite  agreeably  disappointed 
me  who  had  anticipated  beholding  a  den  fit 
[        137        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

only  for  the  Cyclops !  From  seeing  the  interior 
of  the  place  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  it 
is  preferable  to  Manchester  and  most  other 
manufacturing  towns  (as  a  place  of  residence !). 
Here  I  went  through  a  pin  manufactory,  and 
was  surprised  at  the  number  of  persons  who 
are  necessary  to  the  formation  of  a  single  pin. 
As  usual,  here  was  a  number  of  wretched  little 
boys  and  girls  confined  at  work  from  morn  to 
night. 

Thomason's  show  rooms  are  considered  as 
one  of  the  "  lions  "  of  Birmingham.  Here  is 
exposed  for  sale  almost  every  article  which  is 
made  in  the  place.  The  rooms  are  fitted  up  in 
great  taste,  and  the  style  in  which  the  articles 
are  displayed  tempt  almost  every  one  who  visits 
here  to  become  a  purchaser.  The  attendants 
are  uncommonly  polite  in  showing  the  articles 
to  strangers.  They  were  manufacturing  in  an 
outer  room  a  copper  vase  modeled  after  a  mar- 
ble one  dug  from  the  ruins  of  Herculaneum 
which  is  now  deposited  at  Warwick  Castle. 
This  vase  when  done  wiU  cost  £1500.  The 
original  is  exquisitely  carved  and  this  is  to 
be  an  exact  copy.  I  did  not  visit  any  other 
[        158        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

manufactories,  as  the  proprietors  of  most  of 
them  are  particularly  averse  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  strangers,  especially  Americans.  This 
is  the  same  throughout  England.  The  next 
morning  set  out  for  Liverpool  upon  the  out- 
side of  the  coach.  The  early  part  of  the  day 
was  remarkably  fine,  but  at  noon  it  began 
to  rain,  and  I  arrived  early  in  the  evening 
at  Liverpool  completely  drenched  by  the  tor- 
rents which  poured  down,  the  latter  part  of  my 
journey. 

Finding  that  the  ship  in  which  I  have  taken 
my  passage  did  not  sail  for  a  fortnight,  I  took 
lodgings  instead  of  being  at  an  inn.  I  have 
two  rooms,  a  parlor  and  bedroom,  for  which  I 
pay  a  very  moderate  sura  compared  to  the  inn 
charges.  When  I  take  my  meals  at  my  room, 
my  landlady  charges  me  the  first  cost  for  the 
articles,  the  expense  for  preparing  them  being 
included  in  the  rent  of  the  apartments.  I  found 
this  to  be  a  much  more  comfortable  way  of 
living  than  I  had  anticipated.  Wishing  to  bathe 
I  went  as  directed  a  small  distance  from  town 
where  a  number  of  bathing  machines  is  kept. 
These  are  drawn  into  the  sea  by  a  horse.  These 
[       159       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

machines  are  quite  comfortable  and  the  charge 
for  using  them  moderate,  being  only  sixpence. 
At  a  short  distance  from  where  I  was  there 
were  some  women  bathing.  They  seemed  not 
at  all  disturbed  at  a  number  of  us  being  so  near 
them.  Although  this  is  quite  customary  here, 
I  think  the  indelicacy  of  it  is  not  commend- 
able. Mr.  W.  of  Warrington  having  heard  of 
my  arrival  at  Liverpool  sent  his  son  in  a  gig 
after  me  to  go  on  a  visit  to  his  house.  I  re- 
turned with  him  and  on  Sunday  dined  at  a 
country  seat  of  Mr.  A.  G.  at  Walton,  a  short 
distance  from  Warrington.  After  dinner  we 
took  a  short  ride.  The  road  was  uncommonly 
pretty,  running  most  of  the  way  between  the 
Duke  of  Bridgewater's  canal  and  the  River 
Mersey.  At  about  five  miles  from  Walton 
stands  Halton  Castle,  now  a  ruin.  One  of  its 
walls  forms  part  of  the  wall  to  an  inn,  much 
resorted  to  as  a  place  of  recreation.  The  site 
of  the  hall  is  now  a  bowling  green.  Some  of 
the  window  arches  are  in  tolerable  preservation 
and  some  few  specimens  of  ornamented  stone 
work  still  remain.  The  eminence  upon  which 
this  ruin  stands  rises  up  almost  perpendicularly. 
[        160        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

The  village  of  Halton  directly  underneath  adds 
much  to  the  beauty  of  the  landscape.  On  the 
other  side  is  a  view  of  Norton  Priory,  stand- 
ing in  a  fine  park,  the  seat  of  Sir  Richard 
Brook.  The  view  altogether  is  very  extensive. 
When  upon  the  walls  it  appeared  like  being 
in  the  centre  of  a  vast  panorama ;  having  no- 
thing to  obstruct  the  view  on  every  side  the  eye 
was  presented  with  cultivated  fields,  woods, 
rivers,  canals,  and  villages.  At  the  entrance  of 
the  village  the  traveller  is  notified  by  an  in- 
scription upon  the  castle  walls  that  an  inn  is 
kept  there.  The  road  winds  round  the  hill  and 
leads  to  the  top.  There  were  several  groups  of 
lads  and  lasses  seated  upon  the  ruins  of  the 
walls,  partaking  of  refreshments.  I  could  not 
help  drawing  in  my  imagination  the  contrast 
between  the  scene  and  the  scenes  here  exhibited 
a  few  centuries  ago,  when 

"  From  yon  higb  tower  the  archer  drew 
With  steady  hand  the  stubborn  yew, 

While  fierce  in  martial  state, 
The  mailed  host  in  long  array. 
With  crested  helms,  and  banners  gay, 

Burst  from  the  thundering  gate." 

This  castle  was  destroyed  by  Oliver  Cromwell 
C        161        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

in  the  civil  wars.  There  could  not  be  a  situa- 
tion better  calculated  for  defence  than  this: 
there  is  no  way  by  which  a  foe  could  approach 
undiscovered  as  the  battlement  commanded  a 
view  of  the  country  to  a  long  distance  in  every 
direction,  and  the  steepness  of  the  eminence 
rendered  it  almost  an  impossibility  to  storm  the 
walls.  Most  of  the  strongholds  of  ancient  days 
are  remarkable  for  being  erected  in  such  situa- 
tions as  rendered  them  inaccessible.  One  mile 
from  here  is  the  village  of  Runcorn.  This  place 
is  much  resorted  to  by  the  people  of  Manches- 
ter and  Liverpool  as  a  place  of  amusement. 
Here  I  saw  for  the  first  time  an  English  steam- 
boat. Compared  with  our  boats  of  the  same  de- 
scription they  are  as  far  behind  in  point  of  im- 
provement as  our  stagecoaches  are  to  those  of 
this  country;  nor  are  those  boats  which  are  upon 
the  River  Clyde  in  Scotland  and  which  are 
much  praised  here  to  be  (as  I  am  informed) 
compared  to  those  in  America.  The  deficiency 
of  improvement  in  both  cases  may  be  accounted 
for  in  their  superiority  of  roads  and  number  of 
population  and  the  natural  advantages  of  our 
rivers  over  theirs. 

[        162        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

Monday,  went  to  a  fair  or  wake  in  the  village 
of  Winwiek ;  among  the  sports  of  this  place 
was  a  bear  bait.  Bruin  after  being  muzzled 
was  tied  to  a  stake  and  the  dogs  were  set  upon 
him.  I  was  at  first  shocked  at  the  inhumanity 
of  depriving  the  poor  animal  of  resistance  and 
then  thus  tormenting  him,  but  I  soon  discov- 
ered that  the  bear  was  fully  equal  to  his  adver- 
saries. The  first  dog  set  upon  him  was  a  large 
bull-dog,  to  whom  he  gave  the  "  hug  a  la  fran- 
^ois  "  and  sent  him  off  howling.  So  well  was 
he  satisfied  of  his  reception  that  all  the  coaxings 
and  threatenings  of  his  master  could  not  induce 
him  to  repeat  it.  Many  others  were  served  in 
a  similar  manner  without  the  bear's  being  in  the 
least  injured,  as  his  hair  was  grown  to  such  an 
immoderate  length  as  to  entirely  prevent  the 
least  laceration  of  the  flesh  from  the  dogs'  teeth. 
The  baiting  had  continued  for  some  time  until 
the  bear  grew  angry,  when  he  broke  his  rope 
and  after  laying  his  keeper  sprawling  set  off  in 
full  chase  after  the  mob  of  men,  women  and 
children  who  fled  over  hedges  and  ditches  in  all 
directions.  The  ludicrous  scene  that  then  was 
presented  would  require  (to  give  an  adequate 
[        163        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

idea  of  it)  the  pencil  of  Morland.^  The  rest  of 
the  amusements  were  similar  to  those  of  our 
fairs.  The  church  in  this  village  is  quite  an- 
cient. It  is  adorned  with  a  handsome  spire. 
Upon  the  base  of  the  tower  is  sculptured  the 
figure  of  a  hog  with  a  beU  around  his  neck. 
The  design  of  this  curious  figure  I  could  not 
leam.  While  we  were  viewing  the  church,  a 
person  (whom  we  afterwards  found  to  be  the 
head  gardener  to  the  rector)  very  politely  in- 
vited us  to  view  the  grounds  of  the  Kectory, 
which  was  opposite  the  church.  He  conducted 
us  round  the  park  through  the  shrubbery  into 
the  gardens  where  he  treated  us  with  some  fine 
peaches  and  nectarines,  and  showed  us  the  way 
back  to  the  village  through  another  part  of  the 
grounds.  At  parting  we  wished  to  make  him  a 
present  for  his  civility,  which  he  refused.  This 
I  mention  as  being  a  singular  case,  as  it  was 
the  first  money  I  offered  in  England  to  a  guide 
or  servant  which  was  refused.  The  rectory  be- 
longs to  the  Earl  of  Derby  and  is  estimated  as 
the  richest  living  in  this  part  of  England. 
At  Warrington  is  a  manufactory  of  files.  The 

^  George  Morland,  1763-1804  ;  English  painter. 
[         164         ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

proprietor  of  it  very  politely  showed  me  the 
different  processes  of  the  making  of  them.  The 
teeth  of  the  files  are  cut  by  a  chisel,  and  it  is 
astonishing  with  what  precision  and  regularity 
the  workmen  move  their  hands  even  while  look- 
ing off  their  work.  Some  of  these  files  were  of 
such  exquisite  fineness  that  it  required  a  glass 
to  discover  the  teeth.  These  are  for  jewellers' 
and  watchmakers'  use.  The  steel  is  first  soft- 
ened to  receive  the  impression  of  the  chisel, 
and  afterwards  hardened  by  being  plunged 
while  red-hot  into  a  prepared  liquid.  The  pro- 
prietor complained  sadly  of  the  drunkenness  of 
his  workmen.  It  was  now  Tuesday,  and  many 
of  them  had  not  yet  made  their  appearance.  He 
presumed  they  had  not  spent  all  their  last  week's 
wages,  as  they  seldom  came  from  the  alehouse 
until  it  was  entirely  expended.  Being  some 
time  with  the  proprietor  and  conductor  of  an 
extensive  manufactory,  I  had  a  fair  opportunity 
of  observing  the  habits  of  the  workmen,  and 
can  without  any  hesitation  declare  that  with 
very  few  exceptions  they  are  of  the  worst  kind ; 
their  only  care  and  ambition  seems  to  be  to  earn 
a  daily  pittance  which  they  invariably  spend 
[       165       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

the  most  part  of  at  the  alehouse.  This  arises 
from  their  ignorance ;  not  knowing  the  common 
rudiments  of  learning,  their  only  enjoyment  is 
beastly  indulgence  and  insensibility. 

On  Wednesday,  with  Mr.  A.  took  a  short 
tour  into  Wales.  We  stopped  with  our  gig  at 
Chester  and  proceeded  on  foot  along  the  banks 
of  the  River  Dee  to  Eaton  House,  the  seat  of 
Earl  Grosvenor.  I  cannot  do  justice  to  the  de- 
scription of  this  fairy  structure.  It  is  but  just 
finished.  The  house  is  of  the  gothic  order  and 
finished  both  interior  and  exterior,  in  a  superb 
manner.  The  furniture  corresponds  to  the  build- 
ing, and  the  offices  around  it  are  of  the  same 
order  of  architecture.  It  is  in  the  centre  of  an 
extensive  park.  If  the  ancient  buildings  the 
ruins  of  which  still  remain  visible,  were  at  their 
erection  as  truly  beautiful  as  Eaton  House  (and 
judging  from  those  I  have  seen,  I  have  no  rea- 
son to  question  that  they  were)  one  of  the  least 
pretensions  to  taste  must  sincerely  deplore  that 
barbarism  which  tempted  the  destruction  of 
these  ornaments  to  Great  Britain.  We  walked 
back  to  Chester,  and  after  having  dined  resumed 
our  ride.  Shortly  after  leaving  that  place  we 
C        166        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

came  into  Wales  and  our  first  stop  was  at  the 
village  of  Hawarden.  In  the  park  and  near 
the  mansion  of  Sir  Stephen  Glynn  stand  the 
ruins  of  a  castle  which  is  so  embosomed  in  the 
midst  of  a  wood  as  to  render  the  top  only  visible. 
The  owner  has  erected  a  wall  around  to  pre- 
serve the  ruin  from  further  decay.  The  park 
is  an  intermixture  of  hiU  and  dale.  One  of  the 
valleys  is  very  picturesque,  having  a  small  white 
cot  overspread  with  vines  at  the  bottom  of  it. 
As  we  continued  our  way  the  road  became  more 
mountainous,  and  afforded  many  fine  views  of 
the  sea-coast.  At  the  foot  of  the  hills  we  over- 
took an  interesting  little  Welsh  girl  who  with 
her  brother  had  been  upon  an  errand  to  a  neigh- 
boring village.  We  asked  some  information  re- 
specting the  road.  This  she  gave  us  and  in  re- 
turn requested  permission  to  run  behind  the 
gig.  During  the  run,  which  lasted  a  mile  or 
more,  we  had  much  conversation  with  her, 
highly  amused  at  the  quickness  and  propriety 
of  her  replies  to  our  numerous  inquiries.  She 
as  well  as  her  brother  spoke  Welsh  as  well  as 
English.  I  asked  her  if  she  would  go  home  with 
me.  She  said  she  would  if  I  would  stop  and 
[        167        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

"  let  her  see  her  father  and  mother  a  bit  first." 
Her  name  was  Martha  O  wings.  She  was  quite 
handsome  and  had  a  pecuHar  sharp,  although 
innocent  and  artless  manner  which  interested 
us  very  much.  A  short  distance  from  the  road 
side  was  a  cluster  of  cottages,  into  one  of  which 
she  entered  after  dropping  us  a  curtsey  and 
bidding  us  goodbye !  We  soon  arrived  at  Holy- 
well, and  as  soon  as  we  alighted,  as  our  time 
was  limited,  found  our  way  to  St.  Winifred's 
Well.  This  is  called  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
world.  It  throws  out  one  hundred  tons  of  water 
every  minute.  The  stream  proceeding  from  it 
is  sufficient  to  supply  a  number  of  mills  and 
manufactories  erected  close  by.  The  water  is 
used  for  bathing  in  rheumatic  complaints. 
It  is  so  remarkably  clear  that  the  minutest 
object  is  distinctly  seen  at  the  bottom  of  a  very 
deep  basin.  There  is  a  gothic  building  over 
the  well  upon  the  roof  of  which  are  hung  the 
crutches  of  those  who  have  been  so  relieved 
of  their  complaint  by  the  application  of  the 
water  as  to  enable  them  to  offer  them  as  a  tes- 
timony of  its  virtues.  We  descended  into  the 
body  of  the  bath  by  a  flight  of  stone  steps  and 
[        168       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

found  one  of  the  baths  occupied  by  a  young 
lady  who  was  not  in  the  least  disturbed  at  our 
entrance,  but  continued  her  employment.  One 
of  the  nymphs  of  the  fountain  who  was  as  ugly 
as  sin  and  almost  as  old,  presented  us  with  a 
glass  of  water  direct  from  the  spring.  I  could 
observe  nothing  extraordinary  in  the  taste  of 
it.  There  is  a  legendary  tale  respecting  this 
well  which  requires  no  small  share  of  faith  to 
believe.  It  is  said  that  St.  Winifred,  having 
made  a  vow  of  chastity,  was  afterwards  addressed 
by  a  heathen  prince  who,  finding  his  passion 
unrewarded,  in  a  rage  cut  oil  her  head  which 
rolled  down  the  hiU  and  stopped  at  the  very 
place  where  the  spring  now  is  and  which  then 
sprang  up !  One  of  the  saints  of  the  church 
took  the  head  up  and  placed  it  on  her  body.  It 
immediately  re-united  and  she  lived  many  years 
afterwards. 

Holywell  is  pleasantly  situated  upon  the  side 
of  a  mountain  from  which  is  a  view  of  the  sea 
and  of  the  English  shore:  —  near  it  the  River 
Dee  flows  into  the  Channel.  In  its  vicinity  are 
numerous  lead  mines,  which  are  very  produc- 
tive and  afPord  the  proprietors  great  incomes. 
[        169        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

The  income  of  Earl  Grosvenor  from  this  source 
alone  is  £80,000  per  annum.  If  I  were  to  form 
an  opinion  from  the  small  specimen  this  jaunt 
afforded  me  of  the  Welsh  inns,  I  should  with- 
out the  slightest  hesitation  say  they  were  quite 
inferior  to  the  inns  of  England.  The  waiter  at 
the  best  inn  in  Holywell  was  one  of  the  most 
polite,  palavering  dogs  I  ever  saw.  Upon  our 
requesting  to  be  called  in  the  morning  he  as- 
sured us  (to  use  his  own  expressions)  "  that 
we  might  rely  upon  it  that  everything  should 
be  done  according  to  our  wishes,"  at  the  same 
time  bountifully  pledging  his  honor  that  the 
hostler  should  have  our  horse  in  readiness  at 
4  o'clock,  the  hour  appointed.  When  I  awoke 
in  the  morning  it  was  past  4,  and  no  waiter 
had  made  his  appearance.  I  descended  into  the 
stable  yard  and  could  not  find  the  hostler,  but 
the  noise  I  made  disturbed  his  understrapper 
who  slept  in  the  hayloft.  Feeling  a  little  angry 
at  thus  being  neglected  I  addressed  myself  to 
him  as  being  the  cause  of  it,  and  after  scolding 
away  for  some  time  discovered  from  the  va- 
cancy of  the  fellow's  countenance  that  he  did 
not  understand  a  word  of  English.  Finding  we 
[        170        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

could  do  no  better  we  tackled  the  horse  in  our- 
selves and  proceeded  back  by  the  same  road  we 
came,  to  Warrington.  The  next  day,  left  that 
place  and  arrived  at  my  quarters  at  Liverpool. 
Being  obliged  to  go  to  the  custom  house  to 
obtain  a  clearance  as  a  passenger  in  the  Liver- 
pool Packet,  I  experienced  a  great  delay  from 
the  inattention  of  the  officers.  These  officers 
are  universally  complained  of  by  every  one  who 
has  any  business  to  transact  at  the  Custom 
house.  Those  who  attend  on  board  the  vessels 
are  a  vile  set,  whose  appearance  denotes  pov- 
erty and  who  for  the  pitiful  bribe  of  a  shilling 
will  assist  in  smuggling  anything  on  shore. 

At  the  close  of  my  journal  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  make  a  few  remarks  respecting 
the  people  of  Great  Britain.  I  found  them 
hospitable  in  the  extreme,  zealous  in  paying 
every  attention  to  a  stranger,  and  this  so  deli- 
cately expressed  as  not  to  leave  an  impression 
that  they  had  conferred  an  obligation.  At 
breakfast  you  generally  find  tea  and  toast.  The 
manner  of  preparing  the  tea  is  different  from 
ours.  They  either  have  an  urn  on  the  table  or 
C        171        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

a  small  kettle  upon  the  grate,  thus  keeping  the 
water  hot.  They  consider  "steeping"  it  by  the 
fire  as  unnecessary.  Upon  the  whole  I  think 
this  way  preferable  to  ours,  as  the  tea  is  al- 
ways hot.  Meat  is  scarcely  ever  introduced  upon 
their  breakfast  tables.  I  have  often  made  the 
ladies  stare  at  my  description  of  an  American 
breakfast,  particularly  when  I  named  over  some 
of  the  etceteras,  such  as  pickles,  apple-sauce, 
potatoes,  &c.  The  dining  hour  is  somewhere 
about  4  o'clock.  Their  table  is  not  spread  at 
this  meal  unlike  ours,  but  you  are  never  asked 
to  drink  before  you  sit  down  to  dinner.  Soon 
after  the  dessert  and  wine,  tea  is  served  in  an- 
other apartment,  when  you  meet  the  ladies 
who  always  retire  when  the  wine  begins  to  move 
round.  In  the  evening  at  ten  or  eleven  o'clock 
a  supper  is  brought  in,  and  afterwards  liquors 
with  hot  and  cold  water  to  mix  them  with. 
There  is  so  trifling  a  difference  between  their 
customs  and  ours  that  a  stranger  feels  but  little 
inconvenience  in  the  society  of  Englishmen. 

Business  was  my  only  object  in  visiting  Eng- 
land. At  my  leisure  moments  I  noted  down  the 
foregoing  observations  which  I  wish  considered 
[         172         ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

as  the  casual  ones  of  a  stranger.  I  have  endea- 
voured as  much  as  possible  by  associating 
with  Englishmen  to  obtain  correct  ideas  of 
their  country,  still  I  am  sensible  that  many 
things  appeared  to  me  different  from  what  they 
otherwise  would  have  done  had  I  had  sufficient 
leisure  to  have  made  further  researches.  I  how- 
ever trust  that  these  observations  are  divested 
of  prejudice  other  than  that  honest  and  rational 
one  which  inevitably  arises  in  the  breast  of  one 
sincerely  attached  to  his  native  land.  I  am  not 
conscious  of  having  like  the  traveller  in  New 
Jersey  (as  related  in  Salmagundi)  noted  down 
all  the  people  of  a  town  as  fat  and  cross-eyed 
merely  because  the  landlord  and  waiter  were 
so.  Respecting  England  there  is  much  to  ad- 
mire and  much  to  dislike,  yet  the  former  pre- 
dominates so  far  that  I  have  no  hesitancy  in 
saying  that  if  I  were  not  an  American  I  should 
wish  to  be  an  Englishman.  The  Americans  are 
not  in  the  habit  of  viewing  England  in  the  light 
in  which  she  should  be  seen.  We  either  repre- 
sent her  as  too  faulty  or  too  faultless ;  one 
party  represents  her  as  striving  to  destroy  our 
country  by  every  means  in  her  power,  and 
[        173       ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

pains  are  taken  to  persuade  the  people  that  the 
inhabitants  are  almost  to  a  man  inimical  to  the 
prosperity  of  America.  I  am  satisfied  by  my 
intercourse  with  Englishmen  and  from  many 
conversations  I  have  had  with  them  respecting 
the  late  unhappy  contest,  that  they  were  op- 
posed to  it,  and  that  had  their  government  been 
purely  elective  like  ours  they  would  have  thrown 
the  same  obstacles  in  the  way  of  their  ministry 
in  prosecuting  it  as  the  opposition  of  the  United 
States  did  towards  Mr.  Madison  and  his  party. 
I  have  never  seen  one  who  did  not  deprecate  a 
quarrel  with  us.  I  wish  that  the  same  senti- 
ments respecting  England  more  generally  pre- 
vailed in  the  United  States  than  they  do,  and 
that  we  were  not  so  accustomed  to  hear  such 
intemperate  language  towards  the  people  of 
England.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Federalists 
are  apt  to  imagine  that  England  is  perfect. 
These  feelings  arise  from  the  commercial  inter- 
course which  the  Northern  States  have  more 
immediately  had  with  her ;  and  from  the  habit 
of  considering  her  as  their  mother  country,  they 
look  upon  her  faults  with  the  same  feelings  as 
a  child  would  those  of  a  parent.  As  to  the  oft- 
[        174        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

told  magnanimity  which  some  warm  advocates 
of  her  say  she  displays  towards  America,  I  be- 
lieve it  is  ideal,  and  that  her  Government  shows 
none  but  what  is  perfectly  consonant  to  her 
own  interest.  Self-interest  governs  nations  as 
well  as  individuals!  The  government  is  un- 
doubtedly jealous  of  our  manufactures  and  more 
especially  so  of  our  navy,  yet  that  jealousy  car- 
ries not  with  it  that  deadly  animosity  so  often 
expressed  by  our  Jacobins.  Her  existence  de- 
pends upon  the  welfare  of  trade  and  commerce. 
Whenever  the  period  arrives  that  the  manu- 
facturing interest  decays,  from  that  moment  I 
date  her  declension ! 

Having  closed  my  concerns,  on  the  8th  of 
September  went  on  board  the  Liverpool  Packet, 
which  dropped  down  the  river,  but  owing  to  the 
lightness  of  the  wind  was  obliged  to  anchor  op- 
posite the  rock.  My  fellow  passengers'  names 
are  White,  Bamett,  Prince,  Todd,  Hall,  Hay- 
ward,  and  Aiken. 

9th  Continued  at  anchor. 

10th  In  the  same  situation.  In  the  after- 
noon a  party  of  us  went  on  shore  and  bathed. 

11th.  No  prospect  of  a  fair  wind,  nor  any 
[        175        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1816 

encouragement  from  the  pilot  that  we  shall 
have  one  very  soon.  I  cannot  conceive  a  more 
irksome  situation  than  to  be  thus  detained. 

12th  Tried  this  morning  to  pass  the  rock, 
hut  were  unsuccessful.  I  was  awakened  by  the 
pilot's  exclaiming  "  Let  go  the  anchor ! "  It 
sounded  harsher  in  my  ears  than  thunder. 
After  breakfast  we  all  went  on  shore  and 
amused  ourselves  with  rambling  about  until 
dinner  time,  soon  after  which  we  weighed 
anchor  and  bade  farewell  to  the  little  Island. 
At  6  o'clock  Mr.  Ford,  the  custom  house  offi- 
cer, with  two  or  three  gallows-looking  fellows 
having  lanterns  with  them  came  on  board  to 
search  our  baggage  and  examine  our  crew. 
One  of  them  came  into  my  stateroom  and  told 
me  it  was  a  pity  that  I  should  trouble  myself 
to  open  my  trunk  and  hoped  that  I  would  give 
him  a  shilling  to  enable  him  to  drink  my 
health  and  a  pleasant  passage.  This  I  did, 
when  he  at  once  told  Ford  that  all  was  correct 
in  my  baggage.  After  getting  their  fees  they 
all  departed  in  good  humour,  having,  as  they 
expressed  it  "  done  their  duty."  The  "  Milo  " 
passed  us  just  at  sundown.  She  kept  at  a 
[        176        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

small  distance  ahead  most  of  the  evening,  which 
was  enlivened  by  a  brilliant  moon. 

13th  Today  the  wind  has  been  ahead  but 
the  weather  continues  delightfully  pleasant. 
This  relieves  in  a  way  the  tediousness  of  con- 
finement. Our  employments  to  pass  away  the 
time  are  various ;  some  are  reading  and  writ- 
ing in  the  cabin,  while  others  are  pacing  the 
deck  in  conversation. 

14th  and  15th.  Beating  about  near  the  Tus- 
car  Light,  myself  and  some  of  my  companions 
very  sick. 

17th.  A  gale  of  wind  with  the  uncomfort- 
able assurance  that  we  were  on  a  lee  shore 
and  the  tide  driving  us  upon  it.  The  captain 
was  extremely  anxious  all  day,  scarcely  stir- 
ring from  the  deck.  Just  at  5  in  the  afternoon 
the  wind  instantaneously  changed,  and  threw 
the  ship  aback.  All  hands  were  called  to  ex- 
tricate her  from  the  perilous  situation,  which 
was  quickly  effected,  when  we  had  the  pleasing 
satisfaction  that  we  were  running  from  a 
dangerous  shore. 

18th.  Light  winds  and  fair,  but  made  very 
little  progress  in  our  voyage.       '^ 
[        177        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

19th.  About  seven  in  the  morning  spoke  the 
ship  "  Indian  Trader "  from  Jamaica,  seven 
weeks  out.  Gave  the  crew  some  newspapers 
and  potatoes. 

20th.  The  wind  fair,  and  going  at  the  rate 
of  8  knots.  This  evening  the  appearance  of 
the  setting  sun  was  uncommonly  beautiful 
and  grand. 

21st.  Wind  blowing  fresh  but  fair.  The  ship 
rolled  very  much  and  shipped  some  seas,  which 
afforded  much  amusement  to  us  in  beholding 
the  agility  of  the  old  cook  who  tried  to  escape 
them  by  dodging  into  his  caboose. 

22nd,  23rd,  24th,  25th  &  26th.  A  gale  of 
wind  from  the  Northwest. 

27th.  The  wind  tolerably  fair,  but  the  small 
progress  we  have  made  in  our  voyage  is  truly 
discouraging.  Were  it  not  for  the  pleasant  so- 
ciety aboard  the  time  would  indeed  hang  heavy 
on  my  hands.  It  is  singular  that  all  of  us  pas- 
sengers, eight  in  number,  are  Bostonians.  Six 
were  born  in  that  town  and  four  were  school- 
fellows together. 

From  this  time  until  the  18th  of  October  the 
wind  continued  dead  ahead.  On  that  day  it 
[        178        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

came  partly  fair  and  enabled  us  to  lay  almost 
on  our  course. 

On  the  19th  in  the  morning  in  lat.  40,  long. 
40,  passed  by  a  small  earthen  barrel,  but  being 
under  full  sail  could  not  get  it.  It  gave  rise  to 
many  speculations  among  us,  such  as  the  possi- 
bility of  its  containing  letters  from  persons  in 
a  shipwrecked  vessel. 

20th.  The  wind  fair  but  increased  to  a  tre- 
mendous gale.  The  ship  was  laid  to,  but  having 
moderated  toward  night  we  proceeded  on  our 
course. 

21st.  At  12.  o'clock  we  were  all  electrified 
by  the  man  at  the  masthead  crying  out  "  a  boat 
ahead !  "  Sail  was  instantly  taken  in  and  pre- 
parations to  lower  the  boat  made  when  we  dis- 
covered it  to  be  the  wreck  of  a  vessel  of  about 
80  or  90  tons  burden,  which  had  apparently 
been  stripped  of  everything  that  was  valuable. 
The  hatch  was  off  and  the  only  article  upon  deck 
was  an  old  water  cask.  Her  cabin  windows  were 
washed  out  and  an  old  sail  hung  over  them, 
apparently  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the 
water  out.  She  appeared  to  be  quite  light,  and 
her  bottom  was  much  covered  with  barnacles. 
[        179        ] 


ENGLAND  IN  1815 

22nd.  Wind  still  fair.  About  twelve  dis- 
covered a  sail  under  our  lee  bow.  She  fired  a 
gun  and  made  us  bear  down  upon  them.  She 
proved  to  be  the  English  Gun  Brig  "  Cora," 
five  weeks  out  from  New  Providence.  Supplied 
them  with  Steel's  Army  &  Navy  list  and  some 
newspapers,  also  some  vegetables  for  their  sick. 
They  sent  us  in  return  a  fine  green  turtle  and 
six  bottles  of  spirit. 

23rd.  Calm  in  the  morning,  but  at  ten  o'clock 
a  fine  breeze  sprang  up  which  wafted  us  along 
at  8  knots.  We  observed  several  flocks  of  birds 
and  some  shoals  of  fish,  which  gave  us  notice 
of  the  approach  to  land.  Among  the  fish  were 
some  of  the  flying  species,  which  resembled  a 
swallow  in  skimming  the  surface  of  the  water. 
Toward  night  the  wind  increased  into  a  violent 
gale,  and  blew  tremendously.  At  the  same  time 
it  was  so  dark  that  it  was  impossible  to  see 
from  one  side  the  ship  to  the  other.  The  ap- 
pearance of  the  sea  was  truly  beautiful.  Our 
vessel  seemed  to  be  making  her  way  through  a 
mass  of  liquid  fire. 

25th.  This  day  it  blew  a  violent  gale  of  wind, 
at  times  increased  by  heavy  squalls.  One  took 
[        180        ] 


ENGLAND  IN   1815 

the  foreyard  short  off,  another  took  the  staysail 
overboard.  It  abated  at  twelve  o'clock,  when 
all  hands  were  employed  in  repairing  damages. 
By  night  a  new  yard  was  got  up  and  everything 
looked  a  little  more  ship-shape.  The  captain 
had  suffered  exceedingly  with  his  fatigue  and 
our  ill  luck. 

From  this  time  until  our  arrival  at  Cape  Ann 
on  the  9th  November,  nothing  remarkable  hap- 
pened. I  got  into  Boston  at  8  at  night,  and 
found  all  friends  in  good  health,  although  al- 
most despairing  of  ever  seeing  me  again. 


ENGLAND 
IN 

1815 

BALLARD 


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